The Mists of Time
by Ayesha Jen
Summary: Final chapter.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret productions, and Gekko productions and anyone I don't know about. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended.

The original characters, situations, and story line are the property of the author. This story may not be posted elsewhere without the consent of said author, me.

**A new story but placed immediately after Are we Friends or Lunch. **

Jack settled into his deck chair knowing he had at least three days undisturbed rest before him. A six pack rested inside an ice box on the ground at his side along with a bag of sandwiches. The fishing rod arced out into his pool and would be doing so innumerable times during the day. He was at one with the wilderness surrounding his cabin and fishing hole. He gave a contented sigh and took the first gulp of beer from a can and set it back in the ice box. He leaned back, pulled his cap low down over his eyes and dozed. For once the world didn't need him and he didn't need it. The tugging of the stitches in his chest lessened and died away as the day progressed and he was content. The sun rose lazily into the deep blue sky and warmed his bones and he stayed there for hours only moving to reel in his line and cast it again. During the whole day he caught not one fish and had not expected to.

As the sun began to set behind the tall Pine trees surrounding his patch of water, he heard the sound of an engine as a 4x4 crawled up his track to the cabin. He neither moved nor acknowledged its presence, even when a voice hailed him from the cabin front but a frown descended on his face. This was his time to recover why couldn't they leave him alone.

Quick footsteps tapping out a tattoo on the jetty planking told of persistence and urgency. A shadow fell across him as he listened to the invader of his privacy. "I'm sorry to disturb you Sir, but I have instructions to drive you back to Cheyenne Mountain. General Hammond wishes to see you urgently."

"Urgently?" Jack asked raising his eyes to the slightly flushed face of a young Lieutenant.

"Yes Sir." Then the Lieutenant's face turned scarlet and Jack became intrigued despite himself. He rose a little awkwardly from his chair and the stitches in his chest pulled tight reminding him that they needed removing. Another three days and Janet assured him they would be removed and he could return to desk duty at least. "I have not been told exactly what is urgent Sir." The soldier confessed looking straight passed his superior. "I don't have the clearance Sir."

"I see. So I had better get my things and come with you then," Jack offered sardonically. He was not in the mood to be diplomatic, then again he realised he hardly ever was anymore. _'Why won't the Universe leave me in peace for a while?' _He thought morosely. He collected up his fishing gear and the Lieutenant tried to help, carrying the fishing tackle pack and the deck chair. Jack wondered briefly how the youngster thought he had managed to get everything down to his fishing pond in the first place.

"Catch anything Sir?" the soldier asked trying to make conversation.

"No."

"Oh, bad luck Sir."

"Not really. There's no fish in the pond," Jack responded a wicked smile appearing on his face at the confusion his comment caused.

Jack lounged in the front seat of the 4x4 leaning into his seat belt with his eyes closed. As far as the Lieutenant could tell the Colonel was sleeping so he tried to drive steadily and not disturb him. He seemed a little bad tempered which could be due to the half healed injury he was carrying, but the Lieutenant suspected it was his normal attitude when disturbed. He couldn't help but wonder what was so important that they would drag an injured man back to duty. _'Come to think of it how did someone who spends days at a time under Cheyenne Mountain get that badly injured? _He wondered_. _

As the car pulled into the parking lot they could both hear the alarms sounding inside the mountain. O'Neill was up and out of the car almost before it had stopped moving and the Lieutenant found himself chasing the Colonel to the security check in. He was surprised by the speed that the injured old man could move. It belied what the rumours said about how bad his injuries were. Jack ran into the cavernous entrance with the young soldier at his heels and he appeared to be hunting for something or someone. The thought crossed the soldier's mind that if he stayed close to this Colonel he might actually find out what was happening deep under the mountain.

As the pair headed for the stairwell they almost collided with three soldiers in combat gear. "Hi Jamieson what gives?" Jack shouted at them. This new Colonel replied by throwing a P90 at O'Neill without even checking to see if it was caught and waving at the soldiers accompanying him. One of the other two threw him a weapon which he caught with equal ease and a small smile of satisfaction to be included.

"Foothold," was the only word he heard but it appeared to be enough for Colonel O'Neill. He yanked open the stairwell door and they all crowded through. The descent downward was swift, usually leaping the last two or three steps of each flight in their haste. To his disappointment they only went to level 27 and then shot into the corridor running along to an emergency control room. They entered the area and Jack crossed the room to where he could see General Hammond peering into a monitor.

"What's happening Sir?" Jack asked as he stared down at the scene in the Gate Room on the level below them. All he could see on the monitor was a thick white fog that filled the room. It was not escaping however as the room security doors were hermetically sealed when closed.

"We don't know son," Hammond responded. "There are or were three of our people in there but we cannot contact them or see them. They didn't have a chance to get out when the emergency protocols enacted. The fog came through the Stargate with surprising speed before we could shut it off."

"Why'd we open it?"

"SG8 were returning, or so we thought. They didn't make it through and we don't know what has happened to them," Hammond explained. "We are trying to figure out how to safely get a sample of the fog to ascertain what kind of risk it represents."

"Carter in on this?" Jack asked as he stared at the screen, and then looked up when Hammond didn't answer. "Sir?"

"It was your team in the Gate Room when we opened up for SG8 Jack."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Thank you to Ptolemy for a little extra information which I have used in this chapter to get my timeline right. My excuse is that I am not American and have no knowledge of American Geography :)  
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"What were they doing…?" Jack started and then pulled himself up short. Not the question to ask his Commanding Officer, he was off duty and off base and why shouldn't they be in the Gate Room. "Damn," he muttered under his breath. "How long since SG8 dialled home and you opened the Gate Sir," Jack ended putting aside concern for his team's safety and concentrating on what to try next.

"Twelve hours ago when I sent for you. We were lucky to have someone on furlough in your area as we couldn't reach you at the cabin." Hammond replied.

"That's the idea of the cabin," Jack muttered under his breath as he squinted at the screen. Jack thought about the flight down and how tired he was and shook his head. _'Concentrate,'_ he told himself. "That's a long time for whatever it is to be given free reign."

"It is. How's the chest?" Hammond asked him.

"OK. Stitches are tight." Jack replied.

"We tried to send some people in when we were fairly certain the fog wasn't toxic. Still set them up with masks etc. and armed of course. The corridor was set up like an air lock and we put the team through. That was four hours ago now and there still is no sign of SG1 or the team we sent in. In fact nothing except fog and silence coming from the Gate Room." Hammond was still waiting for the scientists that had been working on the problem to tell him something useful and the frustration was beginning to show.

Colonel Jamieson and the three soldiers moved into the room and began peering at the monitors. The soldier that had been sent to retrieve Jackwas fascinated by what he was seeing but uncertain of the significance. No one seemed to realise he wasn't supposed to be down on that level.

"Round two to the fog it would appear," Jack responded and then leaned closer to the screen. What was that?" Everyone leaned closercrowding round the screen he was looking at just as something with very large teeth smashed head first into the camera and it went off. "Wow!" Jack yelped as he flinched away. "Did any of my team have weapons on them?" He demanded with concern.

"Teal'c had his staff weapon. He was headed for a meeting with Bratac, that was why they were in the Gate Room, waiting for his turn," Hammond explained.

"If SG8 made it through they would have been armed," Jamieson commented from behind Jack.

"If they made it through," Jack agreed. "Well," he said scanning the scientists and technicians in the room. "Twelve hours… You must have come to some conclusions." Hammond found a smile wanting to appear despite the seriousness of the situation. Jack O'Neill always affected him that way. "Tell me something about that," Jack said pointing at the monitors. "You are scientists... some ideas… conclusions…" Jack raked the room with his eyes. Then with an exasperated sigh he asked. "Has that Stargate been open and drawing power for twelve hours?" A young woman in glasses nodded her head. "It's not supposed to do that is it?" The woman shook her head in agreement and shrugged. "Has anyone tried to cut the power?"

"Siler is in Sick Bay with extensive first degree burns," Hammond commented. "He couldn't shut it down."

"That's probably as well if we want to have a chance of getting our people back." Jamieson commented and Jack glared at him.

"Well whatever is going on in there, there is something alive and it didn't look intelligent enough to me to cause this." Jack was really missing his second in Command; Carter would have had ideas if not answers. "Could this be a natural phenomenon?" Jack asked the question without his usual hesitation or pretence of stupidity and the soldiers all turned to look at the group of scientists and technicians waiting for someone to reply.

After a moment an older man pursed his lips and managed, "That is possible. It has to be drawing power from something other than our systems."

"Well it's not a black hole because there is no time distortion, right?" Jack asked and they all nodded agreement to the statement. "So what else could supply this kind of power?"

"Something with a permanent draw on a sun, maybe," the woman commented and the others tried to stare her down but now she had the bit between her teeth she ignored her peers. "Or a time distortion or maybe a combination."

"What do you mean exactly," General Hammond asked her and waved the other scientists down when they tried to intervene.

"The Stargate has been known to join two points in time together before. Perhaps it has joined us to a point in the past were the energy levels are high enough to feed the Stargate."

"Wouldn't there have to be a Gate at the other end?" Jack asked as he considered the idea. "Why would you think time was involved anyway?"

"That thing that hit the camera looked like a Dimorphodon. All that colour and teeth and wings and…"

"Yeah, OK, I get the picture. What time are we talking about…?"

"Early Jurassic…" she began and then stopped. "The only trouble with this answer is where are our people? The wormhole is incoming, they can't go anywhere and it hasn't turned off or reversed. So why can't we find them and where is SG8 they could not have come through the Gate if the wormhole did not attach to P3X 594."

"Actually that is one good thing you've said as it means that SG8 are at the moment stranded off planet but safe. When they can't get here they will dial up the Beta site so they are one team less for us to be concerned about. General?" Jack sat down by the console and gazed steadily at the screens hoping to see something on the remaining cameras.

"I agree but we still have seven people in the Gate Room and corridor, hopefully alive. If what we believe is true they have to be in there." Hammond stated.

"In that case why have we not heard from them?" Jack asked and then his eyes suddenly lit up with alarm. "Hold on a minute, you said Dimorphodon. You recognised it so it has to be one of ours right?"

"Yes." She responded not seeing his point.

"So this Gate is connected back in time to the same place here on Earth, like when we jumped back to the sixties that time."

"Well yes, but the connection would have to be a lot further back this time," she responded.

"Not a wormhole then, a time thingy," Jack responded.

"Well yes I suppose that is right. A time distortion would be more likely than a wormhole."

"What has gotten into that mind of your's Jack," Hammond asked as he saw the look on Jack's face.

"A time distortion can be travelled through both ways and it is also a temporary phenomenon that can't be repeated by us." Then he looked at the scientist staring at him. "Well, tell me I am wrong." He looked around the room. "Please someone tell me I am wrong!"

"According to what we believe… and it is all theory," the older scientist answered. "If this is a time distortion it could correct itself at any time. We have no way to record it or repeat it."

"If they were blinded by that fog and have somehow walked through the Stargate they could be lost on the other side for good." Jack looked down at the monitors and stood up to face his Commanding Officer. "General we need to go after them quickly or we could lose them all."

"Jack if this is right it could close on you too," Hammond replied. "I can't…"

"If it closes there will be enough of us there to survive. We can't desert them sir." Hammond frowned and turned away looking down at the monitors.

"After all," Jack said quietly to him. "We might be the origin of the modern human."

Hammond looked into his eyes and then smiled, "God help us if that's true. You have a go. Find them and bring them home Jack."

**Reviewa will let me know this is being read as the counter is down. Please Review**


	3. Chapter 3

Jack spun on his heels and headed for the door. "Wait up!" Jamieson called. "I'm with you!"

Jack turned and grinned. "I was hoping you'd say that."

"Me too," the Lieutenant called from behind Jamieson and Jack looked at him and then at Hammond.

"What's your name son?" Hammond asked realising he had not seen him before.

"Lieutenant Janes Sir."

"Where are you from," Hammond asked.

"Minnesota," the soldier responded with a trace of a grin appearing and Hammond smiled a touch sourly. He glanced back at Jack with an amused look on his face, realising that the soldier was not supposed to be there.

"Sounds like your kind of marine Colonel." Hammond commented by way of agreement. Jack nodded and waved for Janes to follow him. They all rapidly collected their own equipment and supplied their new recruit with some of his own. The five men arrived at the sealed security barrier for the corridor leading to the Gate Room fifteen minutes later kitted out for battle.

"Put on the masks until we're sure of what is happening. We could be wrong about this; it is all guess work up to this point." Jack pointed out. "Anyone want to change their mind now is the time." No one spoke and the barrier behind them slid shut further along the corridor. "Too late now," Jack muttered as the barrier in front of them began to open. A white cooler air began to slide under the barrier and along the floor around their feet. "You know, this looks familiar. I think I saw it on the TV the other night. An English serial called Primeval."

Janes laughed. "Seen that. It's the most ridiculous program I ever watched."

"Ya think?" Jack drawled.

"Well, not so sure now," he responded and the others laughed but it died quickly as they found themselves faced with a solid white fog that swallowed them up.

"Jamieson, can you see anything at all?" Jack spoke at a shadow he could see beside him.

"Not a thing. It's quite unnerving. Like a whiteout." Jamieson responded and put out a hand which touched Jack's shoulder.

"I think we should all have a shoulder to hold onto while we walk through here or we could get lost. I have the wall and know which direction I am moving in." Jack spoke a little louder than he needed as he sensed the deadening affect of the thick fog. He wiped a hand across his chin and dripped moisture. "If it wasn't for the masks I think we'd drowned in here. Sound out, I want to know you are all still attached."

"Jamieson!" "Phillips!" "Pearson!" "Janes!" "Barnaby!"

"Barnaby, is that you? Where are you?" Jack called as an additional voice rang out.

"Here!" The voice called from directly in front of him. "I am real glad to see… hear you Colonel. I have been moving round in circles for hours and could not make my radio work either. I lost the others, and then couldn't find a wall or anything. Then didn't know what direction I was moving in…"

"Wow there fella. We're here now. Join the queue and don't let go." Jack told him.

"Are you kidding, it's taken me this long to find the corridor. I thought I would go insane and there is something strange in here with us. I keep hearing flapping and the air moving suddenly over my head."

"Yeah we know. We saw it on camera. We are going to find the others. You had better come as they will not open the barrier until they know we are all safely back in the Gate Room," Jack told him and yanked him back toward the others. "Grab a shoulder and hold on."

They slowly made their way along the wall until they found the open doorway to the Gate Room. "Now it gets interesting. I am heading for the up ramp next," Jack told them. "Who's at the back?"

"Janes Sir."

"Keep a hand on the wall until you are told to let go. Let me know if we can't move forward without losing contact."

"Yes Sir."

Then Jack stepped out in the direction of the ramp, he hoped. Suddenly the fog seemed to ripple and a huge head came within inches of his face. Jack yelped. He couldn't help it as he raised a hand to ward it off. Then he stopped as a pair of big gentle eyes stared at him while the head chomped on something green. "Sorry fellas, false alarm. This thing seems harmless." To prove a point he gave it a slap.

If Sam or Daniel had been there they would have told him he was faced with a Diplodocus or at least its head. After blinking a couple of times the head was withdrawn and disappeared. Jack didn't know how big it was but it had to have come through the Gate and withdrawn through it. So whatever was linked to the Stargate was creating a two way portal. Then he saw the hazy light dispersed though the fog and knew this was something different. The light had an almost lilac hue and as he edged forward the colour became more intense. He was relieved when his hand found the rail. It was unnerving not being able to see what was around him and he did not enjoy kicking boxes and definitely not banging his knee on them. He felt up and down the rail and found the end and put a foot on the ramp. "Everyone can cross now, I am at the ramp," he told them.

Now everyone had hold of the safety rail running up the side of the ramp and Jack could swear he could actually see a bit more. "I think the fog is thinning. "Huh Jamieson, I just had a rather unpleasant thought." Jack reached out and pulled him closer so he didn't shout.

"Remember the planet we found Saya on?" Jack asked.***

"How could I forget when we had to come hunt you," Jamieson responded.

"Well remember the attack on Daniel?" Jack continued.

"You mean the Allosaurus," Pearson put in.

"Yeah. Wasn't that little monster from this time period?"

"Huh, yeah. I believe it was," Jamieson responded and heard a groan from Phillips. "Cheer up Phillips we aren't headed for a zoo. There won't be any T Rex around."

"What exactly is an Allosaurus?" Janes asked trying to peer at them through the thinning fog.

"Hope we don't get to show you," Pearson replied.

"OK. There doesn't seem to be anyone here, which would indicate they have all gone through the Stargate. That is where we are now headed and its way to late to get off this ride." Jack commented as he started up the ramp. "Keep your ears well open and don't shoot at me."

It was a strange ride from the Gate Room to their destination. Janes was new to it and had no reference, but for the others it was disorientating. They stumbled out of the Portal at their destination and literally crawled away from it. They huddled together coughing and teeth chattering like it had been their first time through. Jack looked back at the strange aura being emitted and wondered if there were any side effects from that particular trip. He slapped his shoulders in an attempt to warm them up and bit down on the pain the cold caused in his newly healed chest wound.

"How often do you do this?" Janes asked through gritted teeth.

"Depends on the duty roster," Pearson responded when no one else spoke.

"And we are now in our past?"

"Now that…" Jack drawled pulling himself together and being the first to his feet, "is not normal. We travel to other planets not times."

"Wow!" Janes exclaimed. "I guess I will have a lot of paperwork to fill out when I get back."

"Oh yeah, you are not kidding and the debriefing will be a doozy," Phillips responded as he finally straightened up. "Your life is never gonna be the same."

They all suddenly began taking in their surroundings, what they could see of them. "This fog is definitely lifting, I can see shapes over there and I can see your ugly faces too." Jamieson observed.

"This fog had better lift fast," Jack commented. "I do not fancy shouting when I can't see what might bite me."

***** References to previous story Cretaceous likely throughout as I am using some of the same characters I created for that. Sorry any Saya fans she is not in this one.**

**Review please I like to know what you think :)  
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	4. Chapter 4

"Let's see if we can find some cover if this stuff is thinning. We don't want to be caught out in the open," Jack commented as he pulled off his mask and took a deep breath. "Warm and stinky," he told Jamieson and he did the same and sniffed.

"Sulphur, should be OK for a while. This stuff is definitely thinning. They will be able to see in the Gate Room, so if there is anything unpleasant lurking there Hammond will have it dealt with." Jamieson stated as he began walking toward the large dark shape he took to be trees.

"Huh, Jay old boy, not that way," Jack grabbed his shoulder and pointed upward. Sticking out the top of what he thought were trees was the shape of a long neck. "Now it could be friendly but do you really want to chance it?" Jack asked and Jamieson grinned in response and changed direction.

"They seem to know each other well," Janes whispered to Pearson after removing his mask.

"They don't talk about it but I think they were in Black Ops together before the Stargate program. Colonel O'Neill recommended him for this," Pearson answered as he and Phillips stuffed their masks into their back packs.

"How long have you been with him?" Janes asked while peering through what was now a heavy mist nervously and starting to walk after the Colonels.

"Since the team formed. So has Phillips but he was seriously injured on a mission and has only been back with us a few weeks. Actually, this is the last place he wants to be. It was an encounter with dinosaurs that put him in the hospital." Pearson explained.

"You see a lot of dinosaurs on your missions?" Janes asked.

"No this is the second time, so Phillips is not impressed," he said a grin coming to his face, "and neither will Daniel be. He had enough of Allosaurus last time out."

They could see trees ahead of them, grey in the mist but looked like dense cover. "Of course there could be anything hiding in there and they can smell us even if they can't see us," Phillips muttered.

"Come on now," Pearson quipped at him, "where's your sense of adventure?" Phillips grimaced and then gave a grin as he cautiously entered the undergrowth with Barnaby following close behind.

"Where did he get the name Phillips?" Janes asked puzzled.

"He's adopted," Pearson answered with a grin knowing how often Phillips oriental origins caused confusion when people actually met him.

Janes wasn't at all sure he wasn't being ribbed but that moment was no time to investigate or seek revenge. The smell was making his nose sting and he was a little concerned about the affect the sulphur in the air might have. "Why does it reek so much?"

"We'll ask Carter when we find her, now stop yapping and concentrate. You're not on a picnic," Jack interrupted him impatiently.

The mist was thinning rapidly as the sun burnt through. Within the prehistoric jungle they entered it was hot and humid. "I'd say it was one up for the volcano theory over the massive comet hit." Pearson stated and then shut up when he was frowned down by his team leader.

"Not necessarily according to Carter," a voice said from behind him and Daniel stepped out of the mist.

"How did you find us Daniel?" Jack asked.

"I didn't, Teal'c did. He said you were making so much noise he could hear you if he was deaf in both ears. Seems a bit peeved about being pulled through the Stargate," Daniel explained.

"I am not peeved," Teal'c announced as he made a dignified entrance, passing Daniel with a snooty stare and then smiling faintly at Jack. "It is good to see you O'Neill."

"Back at you old fella, where is Carter?"

"Collecting specimens a few yards away. She has been doing so constantly while we waited for the sky to clear."

"Hah," Jack responded. "Is that why you are missing your shirt?"

"Carter required it to put the samples in. Apparently with my symbiot I will be immune to the insects." He made this statement while squashing several of the myriad insects that appeared to find him attractive. For Teal'c the normally imperturbable the expression of annoyance was unusual. Still stood behind him Daniel grinned. "You are not laughing at me are you Daniel Jackson?"

He straightened his face immediately. "No Teal'c."

"It would be most unwise."

"Yes Teal'c."

"Where is Carter," Jack demanded as he looked past them.

"I'm here," a rather dishevelled Carter arrived with Teal'c's shirt carefully wrapped around specimens of greenery and what looked to Jack suspiciously like an egg.

"Are you sure that is such a good idea?" Jack asked a little warily.

Carter smiled a little distracted and continued as if she hadn't heard him. "We have had quite a day. Sucked through the Stargate, now that shouldn't be possible." She shook her head and continued. "What with the Allosaurus wanting breakfast and a Pterosaur deciding it wanted a share. Actually that was quite lucky because as they were squabbling over who got to eat us we…"

"Carter! We still have another three people to find." Jack snapped. Relief at finding his team unhurt not withstanding they still needed to find the others and get back before something prevented them from leaving permanently.

"That would have been the gunfire we heard a couple of hours ago then. We have been making our way in that general direction to find whoever it was, gunfire not being expected around here. By the way," Sam asked as she commandeered Pearson's handgun, "where exactly are we? It looks like prehistoric Earth but I can't see how that could be. Definitely volcanic activity somewhere not to far away too I would say. Not stable or safe here."

"Let's find the rest of our missing people and get out of here. Save the science lesson for another time Carter." Jack demanded.

"Yes Sir," she responded automatically.

Barnaby and Janes looked at each other in faint surprise. The interaction of this particular team not being exactly what they expected. "These people are SG1 our Commands best team," Barnaby murmured to Janes.

"Do not be fooled by the banter," Phillips said over his shoulder as he heard the comment, "they are the best we've got. They always seem to come out on top in the end. Although they do say O'Neill is not much of a diplomat." Phillips grinned at his understatement and Pearson sniggered.

Whether Jack had heard the conversation was not apparent as he turned in the direction indicated by Daniel and saw the glimmer of sunlight through the trees and only wisps of mist remaining in that direction. Then he waved everyone forward. "Gunfire," he murmured. "Hope there is someone else left to retrieve."

**Reviews always welcome**


	5. Chapter 5

Now the fog had gone, apart from wisps of mist drifting through the undergrowth and they could see their surroundings. The prehistoric trees looked odd to the eye, tall with smooth trunks that twisted upward carrying thick vines knotted around them as both competed for light and space. Giant ferns seemed to be everywhere and Jack eyed them with concern, not wanting a repeat of the mind altering experience of that previous mission. It seemed like a long time ago but it had left its mark on him. He looked back at Sam and nodded toward the ferns expressive eyebrows asking the question. Sam understood instantly and brushed her hands across the surface of one and shook her head. No she was telling him emphatically, these are not the same species as the other planet.

They could see the heads of several diplodocuses rising intermittently above the trees and vanishing again. "Don't worry about those big creatures," Sam told them when questioned. "They are vegetarian, not interested in meat. They might step on us by mistake but that's about it." They took her word for it and ignored them.

Daniel on the other hand was looking for other kinds of dinosaur. They had already had a run in with one Allosaurus and he remembered vividly his earlier encounter and what was left of his back pack on the mission that was upper most in Jack's thoughts. He began seeing shadows moving and stared harder into the undergrowth. "I don't like going further away from the Gate," he muttered.

"None of us do, but Major Parker, Arley and Binatou are still missing. We need to find them," Barnaby shot back from behind him, he was anxious and feeling guilty about getting lost. They would not even know which side of the Stargate he was on.

Suddenly ahead of them Teal'c knelt staring at the ground and then stood and began moving around in circles, checking. "I have a trail O'Neill, three booted people."

"Good! Lead the way. I want out of here ASAP." Jack responded and looked back along their trail for the umpteen time.

"What is it Jack?" Jamieson finally asked.

"I feel like I'm being watched. Carter what kind of egg have you got there?" Jack asked.

Sam looked back along the trail and shuddered. "Errr, think it's an Allosau…"

"Are you out of your mind?" Daniel snapped. "As if we haven't got enough trouble."

Jack nodded. "I am inclined to agree with Daniel. What if the mum saw you take it."

"Never mind that, they could follow us by scent," Daniel responded exasperated by Sam's admission.

Sam looked at them with a puzzled expression on her face. "I'm sorry I didn't…" she began and just collapsed to the ground unconscious. Janes immediately got down beside her and checked the ground for danger and Jack rushed back and knelt turning her carefully over. "Don't do this Sam," Janes heard him whisper. Jack checked her all over carefully and found a very large lump on the back of her head. They all surrounded the two on the ground except Phillips who watched the area for signs of danger.

"What happened?" Jack asked Daniel and Teal'c.

Daniel looked mortified as he answered. "She was thrown a good fifteen feet when she exited the Stargate. Teal'c and I found each other almost immediately, but it took us several minutes to find Sam. We didn't till she responded to our shouts. She was sat where she'd landed and seemed confused but then an Allosaurus came out of the fog. Didn't realise we were in danger until then or wouldn't have been shouting. Then the flying thingy swooped down on us. Well then we were running for our lives. She didn't mention feeling unwell or being hurt. I'm sorry Jack, I didn't ask."

"Too many other things to think about, like staying alive. Sam won't blame you for that Daniel," Jack told him just as Sam began moving and opened her eyes.

She looked up into Jack's face for a moment, focused and then smiled. "My back is wet. What am I doing on the ground?" She looked at him accusingly.

"We need to get you up Carter. Can you manage that?"

"Well if you can tell the drummer in my head to quit it, maybe," she drawled in mimic of her Team Leader and he smiled and put a hand under her arm. Pearson leant over and took her other arm and they lifted her to her feet.

"You have been acting a little odd since we got here. I think leaving your sample here may be a good idea," Jack told her, "especially the egg."

"Yes sir. I would say that would be…" at which point Sam spun away from them and threw up. "I believe I have concussion," she told them after a moment. "I can manage sir, let's go get our people quickly, I think I need to lie down."

With that Pearson gave her the pistol she had dropped and unrolled Teal'c's shirt. After laying the contents out on the ground he offered Teal'c his crumpled and dirty shirt. Teal'c looked at it for a moment and then took it back and put it on. "Dirt is preferable to bites," he commented and looked at Sam with narrowed eyes.

Her response was to grin. "Sorry Teal'c," she said but did not sound it and Daniel rapidly walked after Jamieson because the grin that would get him into trouble tried to resurface.

About one hundred yards further on they came to an abrupt stop. Teal'c found blood on the ground and after a moments search a set of dog tags.

"Whose are they?" Looking around andthen back at Jack, Janes asked what they all wanted to know.

Jack looked grim as he read the tags. "Arley's tags. With this amount of blood…"

"We are only looking for two people now," Jamieson finished for him.

Teal'c continued to scan the ground and finally concluded. "It may only be one left, smaller feet. It is the only prints leaving the area."

"That would be Binatou, wonder what has happened to Major Parker?" Barnaby asked the question as he looked around.

"There where three sets of prints into the area and only one leaving," Teal'c commented.

"So there might be blood from more than one of them on the ground. Let's see if we can find Binatou," Jack barked and followed Teal'c as he read the ground ahead.

Behind him Sam stumbled and put out a hand which Janes grabbed and steadied her. He turned to call out but Sam shook her head. "Leave it, there is nothing to be done until we get back through the Stargate," she told him but he looked uncertain. "I will be fine. It's not my first concussion."

They had moved further on and Jack sensed rather than saw a shadow off to their right. Before he could say anything Teal'c commented quietly. "We are being stalked."

Jack looked toward the shadow and saw movement and started to respond to Teal'c's suspicion when from ahead of them they heard a terrified scream.

**I know I am getting a lot of hits on this one but a few reviews would be welcome. I am writing as I post on this so requests will be considered, LOL!**


	6. Chapter 6

When the scream sounded from within the trees Barnaby jumped first and started to run, "Binatou!" he yelled.

Jack cursed as they took off after him with a little more caution knowing they were running into trouble. As they broke out into a clearing they heard gunfire directly ahead and found Barnaby firing at a short vicious looking dinosaur that had just flipped a figure in combat gear several feet into the air. As the soldier landed several feet away it turned and rushed at this new threat and forgot about its first victim. Before the team could reach Barnabyto help he took a direct swipe from the already injured dinosaurs claws and flipped several feet into a tree losing his weapon and crumpling up at its base, they all opened fire to divert it again. The now severely wounded animal roared and turned toward them in a slow tottering movement, still intent on collecting more food. Then slowly, so very slowly it began to topple. Phillips backed up rapidly even though he was out of range but came forward when it hit the ground and kicked it viciously in the head. It snapped at him, snarled and used up its last strength then died.

Jack and Teal'c spun round and scanned the trees behind them knowing something out there had been stalking them and could take advantage of the situation. "Jamieson!" Jack shouted as he saw the Allosaurus charge straight at them and let off a volley of shots. Teal'c's Staff weapon fired and Jamieson joined in. Phillips ran forward a couple of paces and tossed a grenade at the oncoming animal and they all dived for cover as it exploded. The Allosaurus, already wounded and slowing, shredded in the blast.

Binatou crawled to her feet and limped toward her weapon, blood in her black curly hair and on her neck; she pulled at her shredded jacket in a futile attempt to straighten it. She wobbled a little as she bent to pick up the weapon and then straightened with an effort and limped toward them. Barnaby was not moving so Janes and Daniel went to help him if they could. Jack looked quickly around and his eyes came to rest on Pearson knelt beside Sam. "What happened?" he asked.

"She blacked out again sir. I think she is hurt quite badly." Pearson replied.

"Daniel, how is he?" Jamieson called out.

"He's dead. It broke his neck. What the hell was it?" Daniel asked.

"Sam is in no condition to answer, let's get back to the Stargate and get our injured people some help," Jack answered.

Janes picked up the dead marine and put him over his shoulder as Jack slung his P90 onto his shoulder and lifted Sam's unconscious form. Daniel went to help Binatou, taking her weapon and putting a shoulder under her arm. They all moved off with Teal'c and Jamieson's team watching for trouble. There was movement all around them making everyone nervous and no one spoke on the way back, every eye was turned outward watching for danger in the moving shadows. It appeared that the remaining animals had decided they were too dangerous to attack though, or they were converging on the carcases that had been left by the fire fight. Whichever it was the group returned unmolested to the clearing in which the Stargate stood.

As they came out of the trees into the clearing Jack slowed to a stop and stared across at the Stargate. It looked almost identical to the one they had at Stargate Command but unfortunately it was no longer functioning. No purple glowing light emanating from it and no event horizon. They were stranded on a prehistoric Earth, who knew when and with two injured personnel. Jack walked up to the Gate and put Sam carefully down beside it. He stood there staring at it accusingly.

"Now what do we do?" Jamieson asked not really expecting an answer and was surprised when Jack had one.

"We go north," he replied. "As soon as our two injured soldiers are able to take the trek we go north."

"Why should we do that?" Jamieson asked in a puzzled tone and Jack looked over at Daniel and Teal'c and raised an eyebrow.

"Because that is where the Ancients city will be," Daniel answered for him. "If anyone can help us get back to our own time it will be them."

"The Ancients are still here?" Phillips asked.

"They should be," Jack responded this time. "I believe they are simply because this Stargate is still here."

"Jack we don't know exactly where here is and there appears to have been several Stargates on Earth at one time or another." Daniel commented but in a half hearted way. He wanted Jack to be right because it would be a way out or at least a way to civilization and survival.

"Whatever," Jack responded, "we need to build ourselves a secure camp and treat our wounded as best we can." With that they all began preparing to protect themselves from the hostile environment they were now stranded in. Binatou was settled beside the unconscious Sam and given her weapon to protect herself and her charge while the rest worked. Teal'c took Pearson and went in search of food possibly meat but anything that looked edible.

By nightfall they had several fires burning brightly and were sat creating spears, bows and arrows to conserve their more advanced weaponry. Binatou's head had been cleaned up and bandaged and her leg strapped up to support a knee strain and bruising. Sam was still unconscious and showed no signs of waking up. Jack sat beside her, spear at his side and P90 across his knees. Daniel sat beside the fire watching him and Janes sat a little away from the rest was watching them all. The interplay of personalities fascinated him; these were people like he had never met before. They seemed completely adapted to an impossible situation were he was scared witless of never seeing his family again. He wondered how they did it and then decided they were family. He looked over at Binatou who was looking a little forlorn he thought. _'Then again her whole team is dead and that's got to be hard.' _He got up and made his way to join her at the fire beginning a low conversation that went on long into the night.

Early the following morning Jack sensed a shadow as Teal'c shook his shoulder to wake him. He looked up at him then at Sam lying beside him, still unmoving. Her face was pale in the early morning light and her lips looked bloodless. If she didn't get proper medical help soon they might lose her. Jack suspected that the collision with the ground had caused a bleed in her brain. He ran a finger over her chin, more in affection than expecting any response. He stood up and faced the Jaffa and registered the puzzled expression on his face for the first time. "What's wrong Teal'c?"

"Listen," was all the reply he got and he stood listening for a moment not understanding what Teal'c meant. It was quiet. Then he realised it was too quiet, there was a silence over the jungle which had still been buzzing with life when he fell asleep after his watch the night before.

Then they heard a sound, a very distance humming sound and looked at one another. Teal'c tilted his head trying to define the noise. "It's getting louder." Jack murmured and then turned to the camp waving urgently to Jamieson who was already sat up and then shouting. "On your feet everyone there is something coming and it sounds… wrong." Jack finished for want of a better word.

**Will be a couple of days before the next part will be published. RL I am afraid. Reviews welcome and wanted. :)**


	7. Chapter 7

As the strange noise increased everyone began moving. "It's awfully quiet," Daniel commented as he retreated to the Stargate to use it as cover if it became necessary. "What's happened to the animals?"

"I believe that the noise we hear is intended to frighten the creatures around this area away temporarily," Teal'c stated as he moved toward the DHD also with the intention of taking cover near where Sam lay unconscious.

"If they don't like that noise which I can understand, it certainly that would make sense," Jamieson replied. He looked to see what Jack thought but found he was far too busy watching for signs of what was making the noise. He was not listening to the nervous conversation.

"I'm not liking it much either. Kind of screechy," Binatou commented as she also looked for sensible cover and gravitated toward Janes and the nearest large tree.

Then the Stargate began to move and everyone made a quick strategic retreat from the immediate area into the trees for cover. The Gate came to life poking its energy tongue out at the world before settling into its normal energy horizon. "Damn!" Jack murmured, "that tears it!" Jamieson's team turned to stare at him not understanding his comment. "The pattern that would have told the Ancients where we came from was stored in the Gate. It's just been eradicated."

"How do you know that?" Jamieson asked looking briefly at the still unconscious Sam, the person he would have expected a comment like that from.

"Teal'c got stuck in the Stargate once and we couldn't use it until we got him out," Daniel explained. "Don't you remember?"

"Not everyone understood what had happened to Teal'c. Jamieson's team were stood down and away at that time Daniel," Jack responded as his attention suddenly shifted to the approaching craft.

"Looks a little squat," Pearson commented.

"It is going to thread the needle," Teal'c explained as it shot past them and into the Stargate horizon.

The Stargate shut down and Jack sighed in relief. "Well they are here, or someone is. Now how do we contact them?"

"We may not need to O'Neill. The craft may well have reported our being here and they will come to investigate." Teal'c told him and Jack nodded at the sense of that.

"Lets hope that they are more interested in other species here and now than in our own time then," Jack responded dryly. Then he knelt down to check the hurriedly moved Sam at his feet. She stirred and moaned softly but did not open her eyes.

"Carter," Jack called to her quietly and getting no response leaned closer. "Sam, Sam can you hear me," he whispered. Sam moved in response to the sound of his voice but did not wake up. "She's still fighting but she needs help that we can't give her," Jack commented as he stood his carefully schooled face hiding the desperation he was beginning to feel. "We had better not remain so close to the Gate, but near enough so we can make ourselves known if they seem friendly."

They left the remains of the fires and moved a few yards into the trees, near enough to watch. "How are you felling Binatou?" Jack asked as she lowered herself carefully to the ground next to Sam.

"A lot better than Carter looks sir," she responded with a worried look. "We are stuck here aren't we sir?"

"Don't give up on us just yet Binatou. The Ancients might help us, if they can. Anyway you don't really think we might be the start of the human race do you?" He drawled this with a slight smile on his face and she smiled back in response.

"No sir. I hope not. If our race started out as this motley crew of warriors it doesn't bode well for the future."

"Nothing wrong with being a soldier," Jack responded seriously. "You just have to know where to stop."

"An interesting observation," a voice said from behind them and everyone spun round trying to locate the voice. "I would really be grateful if you would lower your weapons, you are making us rather nervous and we have no ill intentions toward you."

Jack signed for everyone to lower their weapons and turned back to where the voice appeared to be coming from. "We would be less nervous if we could see you," he explained and a single man stepped out from behind a tree very close to them.

"We have been observing you since late last night, but it has taken us this long to decipher your language."

"Impressive," Daniel murmured. "Maybe they will be able to help us." Pearson nodded his agreement but wondered if anyone could actually help them get home.

"There is one seriously injured among you. We would have observed much longer but have become concerned for your female."

"She is her own female, but yes we would appreciate any help you could give her. She is important to us." Jack responded.

"Being one of only two females for you to breed with?"

Daniel noticed that Jack was made speechless by that comment and stepped forward. "Can we discuss our problems and needs later? I think our friend is dying and would like some help for her now." Jack's eyes climbed skyward conveying what he thought of the present Ancients but Daniel ignored him.

The stranger turned away from them and called his companions out from cover. Daniel listened carefully and recognised a few of the strange sounding words. He stepped closer to Jack and whispered. "Like the Ancients written language if I am hearing right."

"So they are here, now we have help, possibly but how much do we tell them," Jack responded and then looked back as he sensed the men approaching.

"Has your friend been mauled by an animal?"

Jack stared at the man for a brief moment and then handed his weapon to Daniel and turned toward Sam. "Binatou over there was and has some injuries. Carter was thrown out of the Stargate and impacted with the ground."

"Thrown out?" he asked a little puzzled.

"Something went wrong with our Stargate and it sucked the people around it through and chucked them out this end. Some of us came looking for them and we are the survivors." This explained a lot but left a lot out.

The man listened and then said something in his own language and was answered. "The Stargate was caught in a temporal shift. You came through this? You're lucky any of you are alive."

He strode across to Sam and checked her over quickly then barked some orders. Within a few minutes a ship landed that was big enough to accommodate them all. They all boarded rapidly when told that they needed to get Sam to the city quickly. Jack watched the Stargate dwindle rapidly into the distance and he wondered if any of them would ever see it again.

**This point is a natural break. Next the City of the Ancients! Reviews gratefully recieved.**


	8. Chapter 8

The trip to the city had been a bit of a blur for Jack. Sam stopped breathing twice and they had trouble reviving her. Feeling helpless was not something that when down well with him and watching strangers fighting to save her life did not help. He had to put his trust and her life in the hands of people he did not know. In the end he moved up to the cockpit and stared out of the window looking for something familiar about the landscape below. When they hit the coastline he could see something large flying with long lazy strokes of their wings down the coast.

"Pterosaurs," a quiet voice told him from behind.

Jack turned to find Binatou standing beside him and looked back out of the window. "Is that what they look like? The name's familiar, probably from school or something."

"Or that mission to the dinosaur planet," she reminded him. "I read the report on that one, dinosaurs have always fascinated me."

Jack leaned back against the cockpit wall and looked down on the slightly smaller figure beside him. "Where you from Binatou?" he asked curiously.

"Me? Born in New York. My parents were from Zambia. Dad had a good job and I had a good life. They could not understand it when I chose to join up."

"Cause problems with the family?" Jack asked.

"Not really, just my dad expected me to give him grandkids, not go fight wars," she replied a dimple appearing in her face as amusement at some memory chased the sombre look away. "She will make it sir," she added looking up at him. "She's a fighter and they won't let her die."

Jack put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a pat. "Let's go see how they are doing with that shall we?" Binatou nodded and they left the cockpit and missed the view of the city appearing over the horizon. It was set several miles out at sea and shimmered in the sunlight.

Later that day as the sun set over the city Daniel stood on a balcony looking toward the coast of Pangea. He could see no movement, they were too far from shore for that, but he could imagine it. Now in the safety of the city he let his mind range over the possibilities of where and when they were. He was an archaeologist interested in civilisations first, but since the fateful mission where they had met Saya he had taken an interest in earlier times. Not enough time to indulge his growing interest though, he knew so little about this Earth era.

It seemed strange that the team that had helped them retrieve Jack all that time ago would be here helping them again now. "Pearson!" he called into the room behind him. "Come look at this view, it's amazing!"

Pearson wandered out onto the balcony, munching on a juicy but strange piece of fruit. He looked across at the land and then moved forward and looked down. "Some technology to build this place out here on the ocean. Maybe the legend of Atlantis is true, this is it and they all drowned."

"That wouldn't make sense given what we know of what happened to these people and where they went," Daniel responded with a grin. Then he stopped grinning and frowned.

"What's wrong Daniel," his friend asked as the silence began to stretch.

"Nothing really. It's just that I keep getting flashes of memory, but they don't seem like mine, if you know what I mean."

"No I don't. Knowing what you have been through I don't think I want to know. Come on Danny, we have an appointment were they apparently help us to speak their language and we can go explore the city. Besides, I want to know how Sam is doing." Daniel nodded and followed his friend out of the room.

Jack had been sat against the wall of the room in which Sam was being treated. He had been there several hours and no one had attempted to make him leave, even when he was supposed to be somewhere else. Finally the frantic activity around Sam had died away and a woman had motioned for him to come forward. Sam led in the bed still unmoving but she had a good skin colour and was breathing normally. He sat down and took her hand which was warm.

"So you haven't decided to leave us just yet," Jack murmured as he lightly kissed her hand and placed it back on the bed. "I suppose I had better go see what everyone else is up to now. Will be back soon." He stood up leant over and laid a kiss on her forehead and left. One of the nurses appeared as he left the room regarding him curiously then shrugged her shoulders and went to check Sam again.

The room seemed to be full of people, both his people and the Ancients. _'Who aren't ancient yet. What do we call them I wonder?'_ "What's happening folks," he quipped as he swung into the room. Daniel looked around at him and his face lit up. No way would his friend be so cheerful if he had bad news, Sam was going to be OK. He looked at Pearson stood next to him who responded by punching his shoulder as he too realised that Sam was going to make it.

Janes watched the interplay with a curious expression and Binatou leaned over and whispered. "She is going to be OK. He wouldn't be so chirpy if she wasn't."

'_So,' _Janes thought,_ 'they know each other so well they don't need to explain. I suppose if this kind of thing happens to them a lot they would get like this.' _He responded by giving Binatou a hug which produced a shy, slightly embarrassed reaction which made him grin.

The whole room seem to light up when Jack entered it and their new friends watched him curiously noting how his people looked to him with respect and confidence. After waiting for the moment to pass the scientist beckoned for Jamieson to sit where indicated, but Jack shook his head and sat in his place. He looked surprised but kept his question for later when they would be able to answer for themselves. He took a quick scan of Jack's head and glanced at it. Then he did what Jack decided was their version of a double take and scanned again.

Then he beckoned Jamieson again with a little more urgency and quickly ran the scanner over Jamieson. The readings from the Colonel appeared to be what he was expecting and he slapped a small disk on the side of his head and activated it. "Do you understand me?" he asked a surprised Jamieson.

"Yes. Is it that simple?"

"You wear this disk for the next two days and you will no longer need it. You will have assimilated our language," was the answer.

"Cool!" Jamieson said and then stopped. "Why didn't you give this to my friend?"

"There are anomalies in his readings. We will need to adjust the disk to account for them."

Jamieson explained what the scientist had told him and Jack shrugged. "With the number of people that have messed with my head recently I am not that surprised. One of you will have to interpret for me." With that he moved out of the way and watched over the scientists shoulder, making him a little flustered.

There were no problems with most of them, even Teal'c came within the expected parameters for the instrument. Then Daniel sat down to be fitted with the teaching/ translating aid and the scientist looked as if he was having a heart attack. "Not possible! Not possible?" he kept repeating as he checked and rechecked the scans. Then he looked nonplussed and asked Daniel guardedly. "You can speak our language?"

Daniel looked around the room as Jamieson told him what had been said. His eyes came to rest on Jack's face as he replied. "Possibly, but I have no memory of it."

Jamieson repeated the strange reply exactly and it brought the guard who had retrieved them from the Stargate across the room to the scientist's side. They studied the scan together for a few moments and then the scientist picked up another instrument and adjusted the scanner. Then he scanned again and asked," can you understand me?"

Daniel frowned and repeated, "you… me…" then waited.

Another adjustment and the scientist tried again. "Where did you learn our language?"

Daniel's face brightened as he replied. "I'm sorry but I have no memory of where, it was taken from me." His eyes slid back to Jack with a question in them. Jack shrugged indicating that Daniel be truthful but careful. "I am uncertain how to explain what happened to me and I do not want to…" he hesitated and a voice from the doorway completed the sentence.

"Jeopardize our futures by telling us something that could change it." The woman advanced into the room with an air of authority and wisdom that belied the youthful appearance.

"Yes, something like that. I don't have memories of where and what, but I do know who and why. Damn I sound like a conundrum." Daniel finished.

"That aside for the moment," the woman continued. "Can you explain to me why your leader has the signs of being tampered with by the Asgard?"

At that Daniel began to laugh and her eyebrows rose in surprise at the response. "I'm sorry," Daniel apologised, "but the Asgard seem to have a long term interest in Jack. Apparently they think he is very special."

"Why is this amusing?" She asked with a small smile trying to break out on the calm face.

"We have an Asgard friend. He has been very helpful and well he's more Jack's friend and maybe Sam's. You know the Asgard then."

"A self evident statement. Desala adjust the disk to compensate and apply it to… Jack so that we may converse. It seems there is much to talk about."

Daniel's ear picked up the given name of the scientist and he stared at him curiously.

A few moments later the young woman was explaining to Jack that his Second in Command would regain consciousness in a very short space of time. "I think it would be better if one of you is there when she awakes." When everyone got up she continued with a short laugh. "Not all of you at once."

**Please click to review here. I am having a problem with my email contact with Fanfiction but can still see the reviews on my old stats. That said, I like reviews very much :)**


	9. Chapter 9

For Sam the darkness receded slowly, she could hear voices but not understand them. They did not seem threatening however and her curiosity seemed to push the darkness further away. A familiar voice intruded and she tried to reach out for Him but he was leaving and she couldn't ask him to stay. She felt the pain of loss and darkness engulfed her again for a while. Slowly, more natural light seemed to surround her and she opened her eyes and found a smooth light surface high above her head. A movement at her side made her try to turn her head. That hurt enough to send flashes of light across her vision. _'OK, I'm alive then,'_ she thought and closed her eyes against the pain. When she opened them again a familiar pair of dark brown eyes was staring directly into her eyes and her heart missed a beat. She found a smile and managed a drowsy. "OK where am I this time. Last thing I remember was the Gate Room and some really weird dreams where I was carrying an Allosaurus egg around. Why on Earth I would dream about dinosaurs I can't think."

Jack grinned in relief as he heard the lazy almost monotone voice that told Sam was awake and her brain probably undamaged. "An Allosaurus egg you say? Now why would you want one of those?"

"Well I got into trouble for not bringing one home last time and I thought I would let it loose in the stupid scientist's laboratory," Sam explained and then as her head cleared more she grinned. "Where are we?"

"Well if you listen to Pearson and maybe Daniel, although I'm not altogether sure about Daniel." Jack started to ramble.

"Hey!" Sam called and flinched and thought, _'too loud.'_ "Cut it out and tell me where we are," she continued quietly.

"Apparently this is probably Atlantis." Jack explained.

"I don't get it." Sam responded.

"What don't you get?"

"The joke," Sam replied looking at the eyes so close to her face. Jack was in fact leaning on his elbows on the bed, a tiredness beginning to seep into him now that Sam was awake.

"Not a joke Carter. You managed to get yourself, Teal'c and Daniel sucked through a time distortion into Earth's past. We followed you through to get you back but now we are all stuck here."

"Stuck sir? Permanently?"

"You do not seem very distressed Carter," Jack responded in a slightly amused tone.

"Too tired," She responded.

"Yes. I'm with you on that. Someone will be here soon to help you understand the language. By the way, Daniel didn't need the help; it was already buried in his head."

"Really sir? So they did leave something useful then," Sam murmured as she drifted into sleep. Jack smiled down at her as a small high pitched snore escaped and then he put his head on his arms and fell asleep in the chair with his head next to hers.

That is where Teal'c found him several hours later still sleeping peacefully. Sam was awake and saw him enter and smiled. She mouthed hello at him and he made his way around the opposite side of the bed, quietly pulling up a chair and sitting down.

"How are you feeling?" He asked quietly while studying the top of Jack's head.

"Not to bad. They tell me I had a slow bleed from a blow on my head," Sam whispered back.

"That would be where you landed on exiting the Star gate at speed," Teal'c commented.

"Hmmm, I have a vague memory of borrowing your shirt," Sam commented tentatively.

"You did indeed," Teal'c responded with a slight glitter in his eyes.

"I am so sorry Teal'c."

"You were not yourself," he responded with a slight smile. "My shirt is now clean again. I believe we should now wake O'Neill."

"But he looks so peaceful there," Sam whispered.

"He will however not be peaceful when he is awake and his back and knee… play up?" Teal'c responded with a raised eyebrow and Sam grinned in response and nodded slightly. She was careful to shake it slowly not certain yet of how far she could move her head. She slid her fingers through his hair and gently pushed at his shoulder. Jack shot upright looking around like a startled rabbit.

"Enjoy your rest O'Neill?" Teal'c asked.

Jack stretched out his legs and then his arms. He stood up quickly and began to move around the room on the pretence of interest in the equipment. "Have they sorted you out yet? With the language I mean."

Sam moved her hair back from her temple revealing the little disk fastened to her head. "They are moving me in an hour or two to the rooms they have allocated to our group. I am curious though, are these people the ones we call the Ancients?"

"So it would appear. I was not joking about Daniel believing this to be Atlantis," Jack explained and grinned at her.

"But Atlantis sunk according to legend." Sam replied.

"Well these people, Atlantians for want of a better name also know the Asgard," Jack mused with a frown. "Maybe if they can go up…"

"They can also go down," Sam finished for him. "But the whole city sir?"

Jack laughed at them and walked back to the bed. "You know they are probably listening to us now. I would be. So if they can't do it yet I bet they will try to find a way because we have said it was possible."

"We don't know that sir." Sam considered the idea a little worry nagging at her. "We could change the time line for ourselves."

"Relax Carter. Whatever we do here has already happened. We are not even certain which time line we have been thrown into."

"Ouch!" Sam responded to all the possibilities that sprang up with that comment.

"Precisely," Jack responded with an amused smile. "I believe we are here because of an experiment that went haywire. If it was their experiment they may be able to put everything right."

"And if it was just chance O'Neill? No one will know how to put it right," Teal'c stated.

"Then we are here permanently and will have to adapt," was Jack's composed response.

Daniel's sudden appearance in the doorway was not a surprise, only how long it had taken him to arrive. "Jack! We need to talk urgently."

"Have you remembered something?" Jack asked mildly.

"Yes… No… Maybe… It's not that." Daniel babbled.

"Well you have covered all the bases, which one is it?" Jack asked.

"The scientist who sorted our language problem out." Daniel finally got out.

"What about him?"

"The Counsellor called him Desala! Desala Jack, that can't be a coincidence."

"Take it easy Danny boy he is a he not a she. Not the same person." Jack told him as he sat down beside the bed again.

"Jack we don't know how old she was or when or how they ascended. She could be alive here and now. What if we had met before?"

"Then it may explain her interest in you I guess, but as you say we have no way of knowing. Do you honestly want to ask for her?" Jack asked. "You could set up one of those things, you know…"

"A paradox sir," Sam supplied. "If you believe they can actually exist. With multiple time lines and parallel universes I don't think that they are possible. You just shift between them."

"You're saying that all possibilities exist simultaneously?" Jack asked dropping the 'I don't understand' stance. "And we are just moving between them. How would that work Carter several of us could end up in the same place at the same time?"

"And that hasn't happened to us before?" Sam asked.

"My head hurts just thinking about it," Daniel commented.

"We need to find out who to trust and tell them everything," Jack stated. "This may take some time but for now we say no more on this subject. When Sam is well enough she can have a talk with the scientists and assess our current situation, if we can understand it of course. We four are the only ones who know the full story, let's keep it that way for now." Then Jack looked up and around the room adding the comment. "If you are listening to us, sorry but we need to protect our future as we know it."

In a small room several corridors away the Counsellor and the guard who had found them leaned back in their chairs. "They are right to be concerned. What we have already heard could be dangerous now with so many wanting to try again," the Counsellor commented. "We need to warn them that we may not be the only ones to take an interest in them and how easy it is for them to be heard. We will have to release some information about them to the city now but we must be selective."

"It would seem that Omar's concern with regard to the time experiments was well founded. You notice their interest in the name Desala?"

"Yes we need to bring Omar here for counsel. It seems that the youngest of that family is the only one with a modicum of sense."

"We could take the suppressed memories of the one called Daniel," the guard suggested and the Counsellor frowned.

"Surely you are not seriously suggesting that kind of repulsive invasion?

**Reviews and suggestions are always acceptable if not always acted upon :)** **This is an active story being written as it is posted.**


	10. Chapter 10

Jack sat on the balcony looking down over the city and out to sea. They had been in the city for nearly a week and seemed to be stuck in a no mans land. Everyone was unfailingly polite and helpful, but nothing was happening. Except Sam was pretty much herself again which was good and he had to be grateful to them for that. Binatou and Janes didn't seem to mind the inactivity either. He smiled to himself as he thought about that._ 'Didn't see that one coming.'_ This inactivity was getting them nowhere but pushing it could be just as dangerous. Counsellor Miana had been evasive but told him enough to warn them of danger here for them. It was a beautiful city though,_ 'I wouldn't mind staying a while or even…'_ He shook his head; he might have to stay here in the end but now was too soon to think about it.

Sam wandered out onto the balcony with Daniel and disturbed his train of thought. "We have been routing around in the city and have come up with some interesting little bits." Sam told him as she pulled a seat out onto the balcony and sat down. "Someone was also kind enough to tell us about the scientist who helped when we arrived. The family is an old and respected one," she continued, "we were very lucky to have him deal with us as he seems to have a lot on his plate, so to speak. I also found this fascinating little trinket." She showed Jack a small box with a button on one side which she pressed. A high pitched sound emitted from it as she added, "isn't that cute."

Jack raised a questioning eyebrow as the sound grated on his ears and Sam said quietly. "I defy anyone to listen electronically through that," and Jack grinned.

"How long do you think we have before someone comes looking for us?" Jack asked thoughtfully. "Still it will be a good indicator of how much surveillance there is."

"What are we going to do sir? We can't just stay here without trying to get home and they are not telling us everything," Sam whispered.

"So? What else is new Carter?" Jack responded sardonically.

"They have had some kind of experiment going on that went drastically wrong." Daniel told him. "I heard a couple of people at Desala's laboratory talking. That was before they realised I was there of course, shut up real quick then." Daniel kept his voice low as he spoke then suddenly sat back and continued at a normal level. "We should go down into the centre of the city were they gather for leisure activities. Some of them are very active, we could teach them baseball."

Jack glanced down at his watch and noticed it had taken only a minute for someone to appear. "Maybe Daniel, but if that little box is their idea of fun…" He let the comment trail off.

"It's not for fun," the guard Gildan commented and then smiled as he stopped by the railing and looked out at the sea. "It does however make it impossible for the tags to pick up your voices and when facing away from your room they cannot read your lips either. Not that it is easy to do that." Then he turned and grinned as he said. "You have terrible pronunciation you know. I am sent to ask you all to a meal this evening for some illustrious members of our society." He made a face that indicated what he actually thought of the illustrious members and Sam giggled then covered her mouth. Gildan's smile widened in response then he continued. "They want you to tell them all about what it is like in your time." He shook his head in an emphatic no and Jack grinned as he realised that Gildan was warning them against trusting these people.

Jack stood up and took the box from Sam. "It's not a bad little trinket but I would think of limited use."

Gildan looked at him with amusement in his eyes as he replied. "I would only use it intermittently even if you like it or the effect will be negated."

Jack nodded and switched it off. "As you say Gildan it is a little annoying if left on too long. Carter will just have to find another trinket to her liking."

The three of them watched as he turned to leave and then he called over his shoulder. "I will come and collect you all personally this evening as I also have an invitation."

"Well isn't that nice," Jack drawled.

"I so enjoy these shindigs," Daniel agreed dryly.

"Oh you two are no fun at all," Sam responded and went to find something to wear other than her uniform.

"I guess we had better tell everyone that their evening has been commandeered by the brightest and best of the Atlantis elite," Jack commented in a neutral tone. Daniel frowned and muttered to himself. "I didn't hear that Daniel," Jack responded.

Daniel looked at Jack briefly. "You weren't meant to," he threw back as he walked away. Jack smiled knowing Daniel, like himself, would rather face a dentist.

Gildan guided the group to the rooms set aside for the meal. They were set high in the city with glass all around the outside walls giving breath taking views of the evening sky. Jack did not notice this at first because as they entered the room he realised he had been grossly misled.

The room was of magnificent proportions and filled with several hundred people. "Damn it. This is the White House!" He barked out and Sam eyed him with amusement. Gildan looked confused and Jamieson leaned over to make sure he was heard. "Our government building where they have large dinners for dignitaries amongst other things. Jack doesn't do politics very well."

Gildan laughed. "I'm afraid you are going to have to be a quick learner or some of them will eat you for breakfast."

"Carter," Jack whispered. "How about a relapse, like now?"

"No way sir. We are here and must face the demons," Sam responded.

"Demons… Very good description Carter. Let's see how many people I can upset tonight. Binatou." Jack turned to the soldier and offered her his arm and then they walked into the room.

Daniel offered Sam his arm, but Jamieson stepped in between them and shunted him out of the way. Sam grinned and took his arm leaving the rest to follow them. "Seniority has its privileges apparently," Janes muttered with a mock angry stare at Jack and Daniel grinned back at him.

They were being watched by various factions as they entered the room, some friendly and some curious, much like any political dinner on Earth. With the arrival of their guests from the future two main political powers in Atlantis were vying for dominance within their society.

**OK preperation over. You'll get some more action next chapter :)**


	11. Chapter 11

For Jack the evening began to drag very early. He recognised in so many of the people present the same devious or vacuous questions and rapidly became bored. Counsellor Miana was there and spoke to him briefly but seemed to be avoiding any prolonged contact. Gildan rescued him on a number of occasions from several social butterflies for which he was grateful. Finally when they sat down for dinner it was discovered that they had all been seated at separate tables. Finally as the evening wore on a desperately appealing look from Sam made Jack excuse himself and walk down the room to her. He put a hand on her bare shoulder and leaned forward. "You OK Carter?"

"Actually sir I am not feeling very good at all. Do you think they would mind if I went back to our quarters?" Sam asked.

"Not important one way or another. I will take you there myself." With that he lifted her chair back for her as she rose smiling and making her apologies. Suddenly she started to collapse and he caught her and lifted her into his arms. He took her from the room rapidly and Jamieson followed him out. "Watch over the rest of them Jay. I'll take her back."

Teal'c appeared at his side concern for Carter written on his face. "It's OK Teal'c she's just fainted."

"Carter does not faint. She is not OK. I will accompany you." Teal'c responded.

"You want to leave the party too," Jack drawled and Teal'c raised an eloquent eyebrow in response.

Gildan then appeared worrying over the collapse. "I will come with you and call someone to check that she is alright. She should be fine now."

Sam woke to find she was being carried by Jack and dropped her head back to see him a little smile in her white face. "Hadn't actually meant to do that sir, sorry."

"Don't be sorry Carter. Pleased to be of assistance," Jack told her.

"Please to be out of that room," she retorted and he smiled down at her but made no attempt to put her back on her feet.

An hour later Daniel and Pearson were making their way back to their quarters. Binatou and Janes had disappeared half an hour before and Jamieson and Phillips had found a couple of single ladies and were having too much fun to leave. They turned into a corridor were the lights had been lowered and shadows stretched from the corners making the place look incredibly gloomy. Pearson sensed danger immediately and began to turn when he felt pain in the back of his head and everything went black. He woke to the sound of voices and running feet and looked up into the face of a worried man and woman. As he struggled to his feet he realised that Daniel was not in the corridor. "Where is my friend?"

"There was no one here. Only you unconscious on the floor," the woman said.

They helped an unsteady Pearson to his feet and back to his quarters where he pushed opened the door with a yell. "O'Neill!"

Jack and Gildan came from the balcony where they had been sat talking and waiting until the doctor had finished with Sam. "What's happened?" Jack asked as he helped him to a seat.

"Daniel and I were attacked. I don't know how long I was out but these people found me. O'Neill, Daniel is missing."

Pearson was almost beside himself and Jack put a calming hand on his shoulder and looked at Gildan. "The rest of my people?"

"I will have them escorted back immediately," Gildan responded and guided the two helpful people from the room.

"Thank you," Pearson called after them and the woman smiled in response, the man just looked worried.

In the hallway outside they stopped and Gildan looked very annoyed. "You were told to watch over them!"

"They separated and we were a few minutes before we followed the two who disappeared. When we found him the other had been taken," the man said.

"Go back with a guard and bring the others to safety. We will not leave them exposed like this again. The stakes have clearly been raised and we need to be careful or they could be used and killed."

"We'll go get them immediately," he responded nervously. "Two of our women guard the two men, but the other woman and man are missing."

"Find them!" Gildan snapped and turned on his heels to go back into the apartment.

Jack had passed Pearson a drink and was in a quandary. He turned to Teal'c who had also responded to Pearson's shout. "We need to get the others back."

"I will go to retrieve them myself," Teal'c responded but Gildan intervened.

"My people say that two are missing, the woman Binatou and Janes."

"Teal'c they have probably gone down to the gardens, go get them and take your weapon and theirs." Jack ordered and when Gildan looked like he was going to object. "They are my people and Teal'c is an unknown for whoever these people are. They'll get a nasty surprise if they try to tackle him."

Gildan looked at Teal'c as he left. "What makes him different to you?"

"A lifetime of serving SOBs. He has anger issues that make him very dangerous." Jack commented as the doctor finally reappeared from Sam's room. His first thought was that the Doctor was looking wary. "How is she?" Jack asked as he wondered at the doctor's nervousness.

"She will be fine in a few hours. At the moment she is in a deep sleep, she has been drugged," the doctor stated nervously. "It is not a common sedative and could not have been given by accident. We gave her no such drug."

"I believe you Doc," Jack assured him. "She will be OK when she wakes up?"

"She will be fine but there is no sense in this."

"Thank you for coming Doctor," Gildan grabbed his elbow and guided him out of the room. "Please do not tell anyone what has happened here. It is a matter for the counsel to decide on."

"Yes… Of course, but…" The Doctor began to ask a question but Gildan firmly guided him out of the door and closed it.

He turned to look at Jack. "I'm sorry you got caught up in this. When it is over we will endeavour to send you home. I have been told that it is possible, in theory, but the timing will be extremely difficult. Something about not colliding with yourselves on your return. In the meantime we must find Daniel before they do what I think they are intending to do."

"And that would be?" Jack asked in an unusually calm voice. If Gildan had known him better he would have begun to worry as Jack's patience was about finished. This threat to his and Jamieson's team the final nail in the coffin of whoever was messing with their lives.

Teal'c entered the gardens to the sound of a fight and ran quickly down the central pathway. Binatou was stomping on the head of a burly looking individual and Janes was swapping punches and kicks with two others. Another two arrived from the opposite direction but they did not see Teal'c. One grabbed Binatou's arms while the other kicked Janes in the back sending him tumbling.

Teal'c fired his staff weapon catching one individual in the legs, he went down screaming. Another drew a weapon that Teal'c did not recognise and he shot him in the ches. That one went down without a sound and did not get up. Binatou kicked the legs from under her assailant as Janes rolled away from the remaining two. Teal'c joined in the fray swinging the staff weapon and taking out one set of legs and punching another in the stomach with the butt end. Then he recharged the weapon and as the energy hissed those that could, ran. Teal'c clipped the screaming Atlantian under the chin, putting him out of his misery temporarily. He checked the one with the chest wound but he was dead the weapon still clutched in his hand. Teal'c considered it for a moment and then left it there as proof that he had no choice. The sound of running feet reached them and Teal'c threw Janes and Binatou the weapons he had brought with him and as Binatou tore the shredded fabric of her skirt off they turned to face the next threat.

**Please review. I am getting fantastic figures on the counter but only one person reviewing in the last 3 or 4 chapters. I am beginning to wonder if the counter is trying to pump my ego!**


	12. Chapter 12

Daniel woke to a sore head and angry voices from the other side of a door. The room was small, more of a cell with white walls and no windows. He was strapped securely to a bed in the centre of the room surrounded by unfamiliar instruments. He could not see Pearson and that concerned him, he hoped they had not killed or badly injured him. They wanted the knowledge buried in his head he was certain but how far would they go to get it. That thought worried him a great deal.

"Where are you Jack? I need you, like now." He said aloud as he tested his bonds and threw his head back against the bed in frustration when they wouldn't give. The angry voices outside died away and he heard footsteps fading and others approaching the door. It opened to admit two men and a woman whom he watched through narrowed eyes as a sense of De ja vu filled him.

"Doctor Daniel Jackson lie still and this will soon be over and we will return you to your friends," the elderly grey haired man told him.

Daniel's response was to try to snap the strapping holding his hands and legs. A sense of unreality filled him as he felt his mind fill with recognition of the individuals. "You need to let me go now." He told them his eyes widening with alarm at the feelings building in him.

"It will be a lot more painful for you if you do not relax," they told him. Misinterpreting his reaction as fear of what they might do to him they smugly turned and left the room. Two others in an unrecognised uniform replaced them. They approached the bed one grabbing his head and holding it still while the other clamped it in place. Then they strapped his whole body down so that he could not move and began applying wiring to his head.

Daniel became desperate as they worked. The sense of something growing inside of him could not be ignored. "Don't do this! You don't understand. What you are doing is dangerous!" He strained at the straps but found he could not move and the desperation worsened as he knew, without knowing how, that he was going to hurt someone. They ignored his attempted warnings and when they had finished left him alone in the room.

After a few minutes of quiet Daniel began to feel an energy surge penetrating his head. The intensity slowly increased and crept into and ate at his brain with a persistence that could not be denied. It was as if a large black pressurised cloud descended on his mind and began pushing at the areas that were blocked. Daniel had been unable to reach these memories since his return to Earth. Slowly he felt the barriers disintegrating and screamed in pain as they came down. What was hidden there however was not what his tormenters had hoped. From the supposed safety of the next room they watched as his body tensed and Daniel tried to arch making the straps cut deep into the skin of his ankles and wrists. The strapping across his body seemed to stretch and bite into his stomach. In a sudden explosion of brilliant energy Daniel's body appeared to vaporize. In the next room they watched a glowing light coalesce, it hung in the air above the bed where Daniel had been. They looked on in disbelief as this inferior being from the future had done something they had as yet been unable to do.

The light hovered there only for a moment but it had a purpose. It accelerated at the wall between the rooms and passed through it. Daniel's five kidnappers barely had time to register what had happened before the ball of energy brightened and super heated. They were dead before they realised they had been burned. Then the light died away leaving Daniel whole again but lying naked and unconscious on the floor.

When he regained consciousness he felt the cold hard surface of the floor beneath him and frowned. Then his memory came flooding back and as Daniel remembered exactly what had happened to him climbed quickly to his feet. He stood in the centre of the room and spun slowly around taking in a devastation that filled him with horror. He lifted his head and screamed out a name. "Omaaaa!"

Teal'c, Binatou and Janes waited for the appearance of more assailants and moved apart to create less of a condensed target for them. Instead they saw Jamieson and Phillips with an unknown Atlantian. "You guys OK?" Jamieson called to the three as he ran up.

"We are indeed OK," Teal'c replied calmly.

"What is going on?" Janes demanded to know now he had time to think.

"This fellow works for Gildan." Jamieson explained quickly. "He says Pearson has been attacked and Daniel is missing. We all need to get back to find out what's going on. Sam was taken sick as well, remember. I doubt that was coincidental."

"Why sir? We haven't done anything," Binatou commented as she took a last kick at her assailant still unconscious on the floor.

"Daniel Jackson knows a great deal and there is more in his mind that he no longer remembers. Perhaps it is this they are after. We should go immediately. I am sorry that I had to shoot this one but he gave me no choice," he explained to the Atlantian.

"Come, I have strict instructions to get you to safety and take no more risks. We will find your friend quickly I am sure." The group made their way out of the garden as a contingent of guards passed them to deal with the attackers. "This kind of trouble is unprecedented in my lifetime," the Atlantian stated shaking his head in dismay. "These people have no respect for others. I did not… would not believe an Atlantian could be capable of such things."

Jack was pacing the room as they returned, held there by Gildan's insistence that they wait for his friends to be brought safely back. The group entered the apartments followed immediately by Counsellor Miana and a very young woman. If they had been on Earth Jack would have believed her to be a teenager. "Has Carter been seen by the Doctor?" Miana asked.

"She will be fine when the drug wears off apparently," Jack told her. "Now would you mind telling us what's going on? We would have been safer staying out with the dinosaurs!"

"There is a faction here in the city that believes we are the first ones in this Galaxy and therefore superior to every other species that exists or will exist," Miana explained with brutal honesty. "To them you are all just a means to whatever they wish to do."

"Which is what?" Jack asked but the conversation was interrupted by the young girl who suddenly cried out as if in pain.

Miana turned and caught her as she began to fall. "What is it? What is happening?"

"He is in pain! Much pain! Below us…" she panted. "Directly below us, three maybe four floors down… Help me Jack!"

Jack didn't know who or what she was but he knew Daniel needed him immediately and spun on his heels, making a grab for one of the weapons. Gildan put an arm out to stop him then looked in his eyes and backed off. "I will show you the way down," he volunteered instead.

"Binatou, Janes keep those weapons and stay with Carter. The rest of you tool up now!" Jack ordered. He looked back at the girl while he waited and on a hunch asked her, "is your name Oma?"

Miana and Gildan both stared at him as if he had grown another head. "How could you know that?"

Miana asked the question but it was the young girl that answered. "Daniel has told him about me."

"How could Daniel tell him about you?" Gildan asked puzzled as the others joined them to go to find Daniel.

"Because Daniel has met me?" Oma answered.

"When have you met Daniel Jackson?" Gildan asked in confusion that rapidly worsened as she replied.

"I have not met him yet."

They all ran down the corridor and entered a lift. As Gildan went to activate it Oma commented, "five down."

"Your coming with us may not be a good idea." Jack told her.

"I must come. There are things I must see and understand," Oma replied as the door opened and she sprang out before anyone else could move. They followed her down the corridor to a T junction where she paused. Jack opened his mouth to ask where next when they all heard the scream.

"Omaaa!

Everyone turned in that direction and ran the last corridor bursting into the room at the end. What they saw brought them all to a halt. Daniel was sat in the middle of the floor naked and hugging his knees. Everything in the room around him was blackened and crisped. They checked the other doorway for hostiles and checked the bodies for life. Jack knelt beside his friend and pulled off his shirt placing it over his shoulders.

"You go all glowy again on us Daniel?" he asked quietly.

"This time was different," Daniel whispered. "This time it was not my choice. I had a time bomb inside my head. As soon as they tried to breach the barriers to get at my memories it went off. Oma set a trap for them and they triggered it."

Jack looked up at the young girl listening to him but spoke to Daniel. "Do you know why she did this?"

"Yes," Daniel answered.

"Would you mind letting me in on it," Jack prompted. Daniel looked up and saw the young girl for the first time. He was silent for a moment staring at her. When he finally spoke it was directed at her not at Jack.

"They will not come near us now because they won't know what else may have been prepared for them. This was a sacrifice of a few to stop the deaths of many. This completes the circle from the past to the future and back. Now the factions must be separated before something worse happens. You will not be able to continue to exist together." When he had finished he pulled the shirt around himself and muttered. "Why do I always lose my clothes?"

Gildan had been in communication with his people and some began arriving. One had brought clothes which were handed to Daniel. Gildan pulled Oma to one side as the others helped Daniel into them. He appeared to be going into shock and the shaking was interfering with his coordination.

"What is going on?" Gildan demanded from Oma.

"It appears that somehow in our future, their present, I have met with Daniel and helped him to ascend," she responded.

"To do that would mean that you…"

"Had ascended and still existed. Yes it does and now that Daniel can remember what happened to him and why, I can see how he ascended. I know how I will be able one day to ascend. As Daniel has just said his being here completes an eternal circle in time. I teach him and he teaches me."

Gildan frowned as he stared at her. "You are a strange one Oma."

"If you think this is strange think on. How did we acquire this knowledge in the first place to create this closed cycle in time?"

"Now it hurts just to think about that one," Jack commented from behind Gildan where he had been stood long enough to hear a good part of Oma's explanation. "Seeing as everyone is being so open now perhaps you can tell us if the problems end here?"

"I doubt it. They will just be more careful about what they try. Besides they have an interest in both your women and Teal'c. That does not include of course that strange Asgard marker in your blood. I don't think this is anywhere near over only that when we make this public in the morning no one will try to touch Daniel Jackson again."

**This is not the end or the beginning of the end but the end of the beginning, LOL!**


	13. Chapter 13

Sam awoke the following morning to the sound of voices in the outer room. The sun was already high in the sky and she wondered why no one had woken her up. She quickly got dressed and went to join everyone else. They all seemed to be sat on the balcony or in the doorway and there was a young girl with them that she did not recognise. Gildan put his head around the balcony door edge and smiled in greeting. By the apartment door she saw two men each carrying some kind of weapon they were obviously standing guard.

"What's going on here?" The comment wasn't directed at anyone in particular and they all looked at her and smiled.

"Hello sleepy head," Jack drawled.

"Are you feeling OK?" Daniel asked her and then she noticed that Binatou and Janes were both sporting bruises.

"What have I missed?" she asked indicating the bruising on her friends.

"Oh they didn't miss you out Carter. You were drugged last night but it backfired as Gildan, Teal'c and I brought you back to the apartment," Jack informed her cheerfully.

"Drugged! Was that why I was feeling so bad?"

The young girl smiled at her and explained. "I believe they thought you would leave the party alone and they would be able to abduct you. Daniel was not so lucky; they attacked him and his friend who they left unconscious. It has been an eventful night."

"Daniel?" Sam asked.

"I'm OK. Pearson has a headache from being knocked out. Miana is explaining what happened to the counsel and the news has spread through the city." Daniel told her as she pulled up a chair to join them.

"No one will be trying to abduct any of you so directly again as they cannot be sure which of you also have Daniel's abilities," Gildan explained.

"What abilities would that be?" Sam asked.

"Well," Jack told her with a wry smile, "our boy here took out five kidnappers. He burned them to a crisp."

Sam stared at Daniel who looked a little put out. "I didn't… What I mean is…"

"What he means is that there was something hidden in his mind that activated when they tried to hurt him," the girl interrupted his garbled attempt at explaining.

"Is someone going to introduce us?" Sam asked when no one explained who she was.

"Oh. Carter meet Oma Desala," Jack said with a decided twinkle in his eye and Carter's eyes widened in surprise. "Personally I think it may be time for us to go exploring while we are here. I think I would rather take my chances with the dinosaurs on the mainland than the superior sociopaths they seem to have in their midst."

"We are not all…" Gildan began defensively but Oma interrupted.

"Do not respond to O'Neill Gildan. He is what they term as baiting you. He is well aware that he has friends here as well as those who would do his people harm."

"How did you end up with people so diametrically opposed in their views?" Daniel asked Gildan curiously.

"Don't be naive Daniel," Jack chipped in. "You only have to look at our own world to know the answer to that! There's always someone who thinks they're better than anyone else."

"I think if you actually show yourselves not to be afraid of them it will probably make them even more cautious," Gildan commented. "They will be uncertain of what else you can do."

"So, who is it that is supposed to be working out how to get us home?" Jamieson asked. "I know it is a little bit of self interest here, but I have a family to go back too."

"Desala, Oma's grandfather, is working on the solution now. He is mortified that his little experiment has caused so much trouble," Gildan explained.

"Maybe Carter can be of assistance to him," suggested Teal'c. "She is an excellent scientist."

"Why thank you Teal'c," Sam responded with a smile and he nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"Desala's laboratory is a secure unit and we can add a guard. It would be a safe place for Carter to be and she may be of help." Gildan finished Jack noticed with a sceptical look on his face.

"Well Carter, looks like you have somewhere to be," Jack quipped.

"Sir, I know nothing about…"

"Oh, go on Carter, you are always saying that!" He cut her off with a drawl and waved at her. "Go produce a miracle for us."

Sam could not prevent the grin that surfaced and she got to her feet. "Yes Sir."

"Well," Jack continued as Sam waited for an additional guard to arrive. "That is you sorted. I would still like a look at the mainland see if I recognise any of the indigenous life forms." Teal'c raised and eyebrow as Jack continued. "See what is there; look for some eggs to eat maybe…"

Daniel grinned as he responded. "Getting homesick for the dinosaur planet Jack?"

"Hell no!" He responded quickly. "Been there, done that, got the T shirt. But when we get back they will be asking all sorts of questions and I would like to be able to sound less dumb than usual."

"You only sound dumb when you want too," Sam responded as she went to meet the escort that had arrived. "You seem to be able to get people around the city real fast."

"There is a contingent of security very close to you after last night. Counsellor Miana will not take anymore chances with your safety. I am afraid you will all have permanent shadows from now on," Gildan explained.

"You mean we didn't before," Jack commented softly and Gildan had the grace to look embarrassed.

Later in the day Teal'c decided to go to the Atlantian version of a gymnasium. Janes, Binatou and Phillips decided that they were curious and could get a workout there. An escort of two armed guards were added and they disappeared for the remainder of the day.

Daniel decided on a library excursion and Pearson went with him with another two guards. Since the previous nights adventures Pearson had decided that Daniel was going nowhere without him. This time he was carrying his knives and small arms and nothing Gildan could say would dissuade him. Daniel pointed out that no one was likely to try to harm him after what had happened, but Pearson did not believe it and secretly neither did Gildan. Oma left the group to go with Gildan to meet Counsellor Miana to answer questions about the previous night's happenings.

That left Jack and Jamieson to their own devices for the day and they decided to explore on their own. Them and three of Gildan's guards shadowing them everywhere they went.

"Do you really think they will be able to get us home?" Jay asked him as they learnt on a balcony over what looked like a very busy market area.

Jack rested an elbow on the rail and put his chin in his hand. "If they don't we are going to have to leave here and make a way on our own or we will never be safe or have a moment's peace. Now I know how all those races that were reluctant to share technology with us felt. Only they don't want tech, they want foreknowledge of what will give power and wealth."

"What use is that to them? They will be long gone from this planet."

"Sure, but Daniel knows what they will be and we know what is out there in our own time. They can gain an enormous advantage over the other races in this galaxy," Jack explained showing Jay for the first time how difficult their position would be if they remained.

"Err, Jack," Jay suddenly straightened and looked round.

"What?" Jack responded immediately knowing him well enough to see trouble.

"Our shadows are missing."

Jack glanced round and then down into the market place. "Damn. I hope they're not seriously hurt."

"Trouble?" Jay asked.

"Oh yeah," Jack responded bending and reaching for the inside of his boot as Jay did the same. Both were carrying concealed knives. The only weapon that would not be visible as they walked. Three small stun grenades copied from the Goa'uld design also nestled in Jack and Jay's back pockets. Not much in the way of weaponry but for two ex black ops soldiers enough to cause minor devastation.

"We need to get down into the crowd. They are less likely to come after us with witnesses," Jack commented. They made their way along the balcony toward the steps to the floor below. Half a dozen men stood at the top of the steps watching their approach and they both knew they were being cut off.

"Behind us," Jay noted conversationally.

"Yeah," was Jack's only response.

"Fight or flight?"

"We're outnumbered, even for us," Jack responded dryly.

Suddenly they saw Gildan with two men come out of a corridor and walk toward them. They stopped and waited for him. "Sorry Jack," he said as they met. "Seems I am also in the way."

Jack looked down and saw the small snub nosed weapon pressed against Gildan's side. "I guess it is going to be one of those days." Jack commented.

"Come with us now or we will kill all three of you here," one of Gildan's captor growled in a quiet voice.

Jack and Jay looked at one another and Jay shook his head. Jack nodded and the next minute the weapon in Gildan's side was firing harmlessly into the air. Jack's other hand smashed below the man's nose and he fell as if he had been pole axed. Jay had yanked Gildan out of the way and drawn a grenade which landed at the top of the stairs as he kicked the second man. The flash sent three men tumbling down the staircase and two against the balcony wall. One flipped over the railings and fell into the market below.

The three men behind ran forward to be met by equal numbers. Gildan proved that he could also fight as he struck out at the first leaving Jack and Jay to deal with the others.

They looked around at the eleven assailants and Gildan laughed. "They really have no idea of what you are capable of, neither had I."

"Do you think they made a try for anyone else?" Jay asked the question.

"I think they are running out of options and now we have some of them who can be questioned. Now we can find exactly who is willing to go to these extremes." Gildan reached for the comlink on the wall and called for reinforcements.

Jack looked around with a worried frown. "Don't want to cause you any more concern Gildan but our shadows are missing. Where missing before they tried to close in."

"We will have a search made. If they have harmed Atlantians in this quest of theirs they will have gone beyond what any would find an excuse for. All of this has been so pointless, I do not understand."

"Neither do we. This is not something we would have expected of any of your people." Jack murmured more to himself then Gildan. As the sound of running feet reached them and Guards began pouring from every direction Gildan wondered at Jack's quiet comment.

"Well this time they were definitely after you," Gildan commented. "Since you do not have Daniel's…" Gildan laughed, "gifts. Either they do not know this or there is something else they are after."

"From me?" Jack queried. "There is nothing unusual about me." Then he looked a Jay and a lopsided grin appeared. "Except Goa'uld tampering and Asgard tampering to name but two incidents. I really don't see what possible use that could be to them."

"Goa'uld?" Gildan asked.

"A rather unpleasant alien," was the only comment Jack would make.

Later that evening they all gathered to eat and exchanged the stories of the day. After a while Jack rose and walked out onto the balcony. The moon was shining down on the sea and he stood watching the waves rolling toward the shoreline. Sam looked up through the doorway and stood up to follow him out. She was blinded by a flash of light and when it had faded Jack was gone. "No!" she shouted and ran to the balcony but there was no sign of Jack. The guards followed her out and then one turned and reached for the comlink. There was a stunned silence in the room as Sam turned and faced them. "That was the last straw. We find him; we find them and make them wish they had never been born!"

**Please review**


	14. Chapter 14

One moment Jack was watching the sea the next he was looking at grey metal walls. He spun around startled and his first thought was, _'Thor?'_ "Not possible," he said aloud.

"There are many things that we can do," a voice echoed around the empty room. "You will give us the information we need before we leave this place."

Jack did not answer the voice. He stepped to the wall and spun around to lean his back against it. He let his body slide to the floor rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes. He sat there considering his options which seemed few to none but he would be damned if he would tell them anything at all, even if it seemed harmless or useless. _'Hope the others are OK.'_

When Gildan and Counsellor Miana arrived Oma was with them. The atmosphere in the room could be cut with a knife and no one was talking. The people from the future were all busy. The guards stood by the door looked distinctly nervous and greeted there arrival with relief. Carter appeared to be in charge, not the other senior member of the group which seemed strange to them. Their weapons were all laid out and they were all back in their uniforms. "If the ultra right among us think that taking the Leader would cripple this group they are much mistaken," Gildan commented as he looked at the activity.

"There is much anger here now. Before they worried for Daniel but there was an acceptance that there would be some hostility toward them. It seems that it has happened often in their past. Now though I cannot read anything but the anger and it is frightening," Oma commented in a low voice. "Even Daniel is angry, I can still read his thoughts a little, and they are not pleasant."

Daniel looked up from the weapon he was checking. Ice cold blue eyes met Oma's and he stood up and crossed to them. "Do you have contact with the Asgard? Do they know that we exist and what you found in Jack's scan?"

"Surely you do not think the Asgard have taken him?" Counsellor Miana asked shocked.

"No we do not." Sam's voice came from across the room, "but that beam was Asgard technology, or yours first and they copied it. It doesn't matter which. It can be traced as can Colonel O'Neill with the technology they had in our time. They will be able to help us find him."

"They may not have that technology yet," Gildan commented as he crossed the room to her.

"They will have when we meet," Sam responded. "I know enough to point the way. We have a rudimentary form now at the SGC. They cannot hide him from us. They cannot hide from us. Will you help us find the Colonel or get in our way?" She demanded with such force that Gildan backed up a step.

"We will help you," the Counsellor intervened. "As much as we are able. These people are as much our enemies as they are yours. What they want could damage all our futures."

"Do you know who they are?" Jamieson suddenly demanded to know and all attention in the room turned to the Counsellor for an answer. She looked around at the assembled people and indecision was clear in her face.

Suddenly a small voice came from behind her and took the decision from her. "The leader we know, how many followers he has we have no clear idea." Oma told them. "His name is Dem Ori and he is the head of a large and powerful family here who control Laramidia another city like this one." She looked very solemn as she explained. "If they have managed to remove O'Neill to that city we will not be able to help you. In recent months they have begun to isolate themselves from Atlantis. We have been receiving a steady stream of refugees who have resettled here. Some of our people," she looked at the Counsellor, "not many, have chosen to ally themselves with Laramidia and are leaving Atlantis."

"Another city? Why is this the first we have heard of it?" Sam asked as the reality of what she was hearing sank in. She bit her lip as she considered their options. "We definitely need the Asgard's help if you cannot help us. Will they be willing to help? I wish Thor was here," she muttered.

"That's it!" Daniel yelped in sudden excitement. "That's why Thor is so interested in Jack, in our time I mean. It has nothing to do with… the other thing." Daniel remembered just in time to keep some of the future to himself. "It's because they have met before! He must know something in our time about now."

"That is a possibility of course," Sam agreed. "How does that help us now?"

A different but familiar voice spoke from a light that appeared in the middle of the room. "Perhaps it is because I am here."

Sam dropped the weapon that was on her lap and jumped up. "I know that voice! Thor!" The flash faded to reveal an Asgard, but not as Sam and Daniel remembered him. He was taller and his face had a more human aspect. A vague sorrow filled Sam as she realised how much deterioration there had been in the clones that kept the Asgard alive in their own time.

Daniel smiled as Jamieson and his team also put down their weapons to greet him. "We haven't met before but I have heard to lot about you from Jack," Jamieson told him. Janes stood to one side staring at this creature, it was after all the first alien he had ever seen, he had never thought of the Atlantians as aliens. Binatou slipped a hand into his and smiled at him, she remembered her first encounter and knew how he was feeling.

Thor blinked slowly taking them all in and digesting the warmth of the welcome from these people who were strangers to him. "I do not yet know this Jack, but it seems that I will. This at least means that we will find him." He looked over at the Counsellor and nodded. "We thank you for the information you forwarded to us. We look forward to meeting this person from our future."

"That is all very well," Gildan snapped, "but he is the one that has been taken by Ori's people."

"Then we must find him." Thor replied.

**A little shorter but plenty to think about I hope. Reviews welcome as always.**


	15. Chapter 15

Within the grey walls of his small prison cell Jack had fallen asleep but now awoke to a stifling heat. The walls of his prison were gone and jungle lay all around him. He sat up slowly and looked around. "Right, which particular nightmare is this one," he asked no one in particular uncertain which of three scenarios had happened. Was he dreaming was he being drugged into hallucination or was he really back in the prehistoric jungle? Then he heard a scream and recognised the terrified voice as someone he knew could not possibly be there. "I see nightmare or hallucination it is then he shouted ignoring the jungle around him." He put his back against the solid object behind him and closed his eyes refusing to move or listen.

In an isolated room on the other side of the spaceship the Doctor looked over at his leader with an apologetic sigh. "This is not going to work. This man has been tortured and damaged so many times he knows this is not real. His experiences have strengthened his resistance not weakened him."

"Interesting," the tall grey haired man replied not at all put out. "We shall just have to use more direct methods although I am told that these people from the future do not react well to force. I have had information from Atlantis that indicates that the group has not disintegrated without their leader as was predicted and they have now been told who we are. Returning to Atlantis now would prove positively dangerous. We will go to Laramidia and prepare for the Exodus. Tell our people in Atlantis to leave immediately or they will be left. If we cannot use this individual then we must dispose of him. Send Dramar to deal with him and tell him when he has finished to drop him in the jungle. He will not last long without his weapons."

A short while later as Jack watched the walls of his cell reappear the door opened to admit a young boy followed by two adult males. The boy approached him and stood for a moment eyeing him curiously. Jack stared back until he felt a deep stabbing pain in his abdomen that rapidly turned to fire. As the burning pain spread it forced him to scream, but through the scream he could hear the quiet sound of the boy's voice. "The pain will stop when you tell me to what extent the Alantian borders extend in your time. Will they spread their influence across the universe or is there a limit to it? It is the first of many questions I will ask you. You will answer them all, eventually."

"Go to hell!" Jack screamed at the boy and the men came forward and grabbed his arms and legs pulling him out straight on the floor.

"I can do this for hours and hours and hours," the innocent looking boy said as he upped the pain level. "You will not pass out, you will not die. It will be unending pain until you tell us everything we want to know." He began to unfasten the shirt and curiously slid the T shirt up his body. He ripped the padding he had felt from Jack's chest and found the stitches. Jack saw the child smile, a cruel smile and a gleam entered his eyes. The child began to tug at the stitches one at the time in rhythm with the pain he was inducing in his abdomen. The pain increased and spread until Jack felt pain to his finger tips. He wasn't aware he had stopped screaming and was lost in it.

When Jack finally woke from the nightmare being inflicted on him he was back in the jungle. He looked around and searched his mind but could find no misting of his senses. This time it was for real, he was sure of it. He rolled slowly onto his back and looked up at the canopy; sunlight filtered through and wisps of mist drifted through the trees. He rolled back onto his tummy and pushed himself up to a sitting position wrapping his arms around his middle, checking his stomach and blood caked chest. The residual pain was fading quickly and he was still whole despite the blood. He led back down and began to laugh. The laughter echoed through the trees as he thought of the past few hours. He knew it was a crazy response but it helped to drive away the horror of what had happened to him. It had never occurred to him before that some of the ancients might be totally crazy and deliberately cruel. A child had done this to him, one with powers he could not even comprehend.

Slowly the reaction died away and he got to his feet and took a good look around, now all he had to do was survive. He had no idea where he or where the Stargate was or Atlantis for that matter. Survival would be a challenge, the first challenge being where it would be safe to rest. He heard a rustle in the giant ferns close by and forced himself to move. He needed somewhere high and out of reach to sleep and regain his strength, if he could get there. At least they didn't search him very well. He still had the small knife in his boot so he was not totally defenceless. With the knife he could make things and then he would find food. All in all he thought it could have been worse. Another pain shot through his chest where the stitches had been ripped out of the recently healed wound. Jack gritted his teeth as he started to climb the nearest tall tree.

Sam had a plan and as Thor listened to her explain he nodded his head in agreement. It was a good plan with one flaw. "I do not have this equipment you speak of," he replied simply. "We have not yet developed a scanner of this design."

"Then take us on board and I will show you what I know. Perhaps between us we will be able to MacGyver a system," Sam suggested.

"MacGyver? Do you mean create it?" Thor asked for clarification.

"Yes."

"We can try to do this." Thor turned to Counsellor Miana. "Do you mind if I borrow your guests for a while?"

"It would be a relief. We know they will be safe in your care. Gildan will go with you." Miana replied.

"I will?" Gildan asked. "I will," he confirmed and smiled at the prospect as he had never seen the inside of an Asgard ship and curiosity about the archaic systems filled him.

Thor transported them all immediately to the ship and as the light died away SG1 looked around and realised that it was smaller than the one they had seen in their own time. "Is this your ship?" Daniel asked.

"I am the Captain. There are ten of us who run this ship. It is the largest in the Asgard fleet," he told them with just a touch of pride.

"It is an impressive ship," Teal'c told him. "Much more advanced than anything the Tauri have."

"He means in our time," Sam added.

"But the ships we possess in the future are more advanced than this one," Thor commented.

"Of course they are," Sam responded. "You have a lot of time to make improvements before we meet in the future."

"Come I will show you what we have to create this scanning device. You can tell me what we do not have," Thor added and walked through the doorway to the corridor beyond.

"What use are we going to be in this?" Phillips whispered to the group around him as they began to follow Thor.

"We get to see the ship," Pearson responded. "Only SG1 has seen the inside of an Asgard ship until now."

"Yeah, but this one is as old as the hills," Phillips whispered back.

"It is still more advanced than anything your people have," Gildan commented in a normal voice. "Why are you whispering?"

"This is not as advanced as your ships?" Jamieson asked curiously.

"Oh no. Do you think it is more advanced?" Gildan asked.

"We haven't seen any of your ships," Pearson responded with a frown.

"Oh," Gildan replied with a grin. "You have been living on one."

Daniel swivelled around as he heard the last comment and stared at Gildan. "The city is a space ship?"

Pearson gave the startled man a push through the door to the control centre where Sam was already punching buttons and checking what was available on the ship. She was using the consoles with ease and appeared able to understand the readings. Thor watched her with interest and only moved when she faltered, to help her understand something that went beyond her knowledge. He watched carefully realising that the information being loaded into his computers was from a future time and that the Asgard would benefit from it.

They were interrupted by another Asgard entering the room. He carried a tray with food prepared for the group. "This has been beamed up from Atlantis so that you would have sustenance of a type you are used to consuming," he explained to them.

"Thank you," Daniel replied for them all and he took a drink from the tray. Then he wandered across to where Sam was working and glanced over her shoulder. "How's it going?"

"Not too difficult," she murmured. "A lot of differences but a lot very similar as well. I can do this." The determination in her voice was familiar to Daniel and he patted her shoulder and left her to work.

Another Asgard entered a short while later and went straight to Thor. "I have to leave for a while, please continue with your excellent work Samantha Carter."

"We intercepted a transmission from a Laramidia ship. It is calling for its entire people to go to the city immediately. We believe they are getting ready to leave this planet." The Asgard told his Captain.

"This is not good. Where is this human they have taken?" Thor asked.

"If he is not already dead we are not sure. There was a surge of energy just before the transmission. It was correct for the use of their beam technology."

"They have left him to die on the land," Thor guessed. "They will not kill him when they can prolong his suffering. These are a cruel people who have no feelings for other races. We are only tools to them."

The Asgard nodded in agreement. "How do we find him?"

"The female Samantha Carter knows of a way to find him, but we must warn Atlantis of what is happening. They may tamper with the city before they leave."

**Got some story threads to pull together now so hope this will hold you for a day or two :) Reviews welcome as are requests. This is an active and ongoing story.**


	16. Chapter 16

Jack had made it into the upper branches of an exceedingly tall nearby tree. The base had been easy to climb as age and dinosaurs had taken chunks out of the broad lower trunk making natural steps, awkward but useable. He had been able to reach the lowest branch from there, just. Then he climbed steadily up thick but almost leafless branches until he came within reach of the canopy. The branches themselves thinned and leafed up, they became easier to hold and climb. He had to stop several times to rest but kept going as he figured the higher he was, the safer he was. Finally he stopped and looked down at mist forming below him as the heat of the day tried to dry out the jungle, the shifting mist made it seem a long way down. "I seem to be spending a lot of time in trees lately," he drawled to himself.

He began to pull branches together to form a platform and wove them together until a thick layer rested on three of the largest branches at that height. He tested them a little carefully and then put his whole weight down. Finally he stretched out in the warmth of the day and went to sleep.

On board Thor's ship Sam had managed to rig a system to scan for individual biologics in the jungle below them. The problem was how to differentiate between the life forms. Thor looked at her work eyes blinking slowly as he took in what she had achieved. "We need to register chemical signatures. I do not see how that can be done from any distance," he commented over her shoulder.

Sam ran her fingers through her hair, pushing it back from her eyes as she stared down. "I cannot remember how… this was something that your ship did automatically and I am trying to copy it."

"Is there no one else within your group that can help you?" Thor asked. "We will need to scan quite a large area. We know roughly were they may have put him down, but not exactly enough. There is much life down there."

Jamieson wandered over to watch them work and listened to the conversation. "Can't you use size to find him? After all he will be one of the smallest things down there."

Thor and Sam looked at one another. "We are over complicating the search," Sam stated.

"It can be set to search for a specific size of life, not chemical constituents," Thor agreed. "A much simpler solution to the problem."

They both turned and looked at Jamieson who took a mouthful of the drink he was carrying raised a very Jack-like eyebrow and walked off again muttering. "So bright and yet so dim."

Sam turned back to the keyboard and began entering parameters for the search but her mind was wandering_. 'If we don't find Jack, if we can't get home. What are we going to do?' _"If I ever get my hands on the people responsible for taking the Colonel," she said through gritted teeth.

"We are friends in your future?" Thor asked curiously and blinked at her.

"You are more Colonel O'Neill's friend than mine, but yes I think we are friends." Sam responded. "Why do you ask?" Thor tilted his head as he regarded her but didn't respond. Sam had not really expected him too, that was Thor after all and she smiled down at the console as she worked. The thought crossed her mind that they could stay with the Asgard if they couldn't get home.

Jack woke suddenly to a swaying tree and grabbed a branch for support and leant over to look for the cause. Climbing the tree was a large creature he did not recognise from any books, missions or anywhere he could think of. It did not look friendly at all and it looked heavy, far too heavy for the tree. He caught hold of a branch above him and tested its strength and eyed the tree that his refuge kept swaying towards. "Shame there's no vines about, if there are such things yet, why did Tarzan not have this problem?" he murmured as he held on.

The tree swaying increased in violence and he knew he needed to get away from it and the additional occupant that was closing on him. His worry was that the nearest tree that he was swinging towards would not hold him. He waited for the next swing to bring him within reach of it then he heard the ominous crack of timber and knew he now had no choice. "Time to go," he muttered as he jumped across grabbing wildly at the outstretched branches. The loss of his weight in the tree caused it to flip back upright and over with sudden speed. The shriek of splintering timber below told him the top part was snapping off and would fall. He had managed to grab a branch in the next tree but found himself being whipped back and forth as if the tree was trying to shake him loose. He held on tightly hoping it would stop not snap with his additional weight.

The branch steadied quickly and Jack dangled from it looking down. He saw his recently vacated bed and the top of the tree falling away from him taking his nasty looking visitor with it. He heard the creature howl as it fell and then crash into the ground, the sound was cut off abruptly. As he looked down he wondered if he could get to it before the scavengers arrived. It was food and that was definitely something he needed to survive. Then he heard a sound that had haunted many a dream since the mission to the dinosaur planet. '_If that's not an Allosaurus I don't know what is,'_ he thought and decided he would stay where he was for a while. He had no intention of competing with an Allosaurus for food. Then he inspected the tree he now sat in and realised it was going to be a lot more difficult to descend. The branches lower down were sparse because this younger tree had grown quickly upward stretching toward the light. He realised he was stuck where he was or may well die trying to get down. "So climbing a tree wasn't such a good idea."

Meanwhile Thor's ship sank lower in the atmosphere as it began to search the ground for signs of the missing man. Jack sat high in the branches of his tree safe but above the height of the search parameters Sam had set in the console. It had not occurred to her that he might climb as high as he had and he had no idea that his friends would know where to look for him. The first sweep of the area produced nothing that could be interpreted as a human form on the ground below. Thor wondered if he had been mistaken in his interpretation of the Laramidians intentions.

It was Binatou who suggested they look specifically in the trees. "If I had been left down there I would get as high as I could. Some of the creatures are pretty tall and I have had more than enough of being outnumbered by the wildlife here," she pointed out.

"Binatou's right," Daniel commented. "Jack spent time living amongst the dinosaurs before. He would look for caves or for height to get out of reach of them."

Sam nodded agreement. "It's worth a try." She looked to Thor who nodded agreement and altered the settings. Thor activated another sweep of the area and this time they found his perch high in the treetops.

Jack looked down from his precarious position and listened. The sounds of animals fighting for the carcass had died away and it had been quiet down for a couple of hours. He began shifting his weight and deciding how to attempt the descent of the smooth trunk below him. There was a flash of light and he suddenly found his surrounding altered. First he saw Sam, Teal'c and Daniel "Hi guys," he said with a lazy wave of his hand. Then he looked and his eyes came to rest on the Asgard. A puzzled look appeared on his face and he uttered one questioning word. "Thor?"

"I am told we are friends O'Neill," Thor stated. "Welcome aboard my vessel."

"Thank you Thor. How?" Jack asked looking back at Sam.

"The Atlantians had contacted Thor about us and he arrived just after you were taken," Sam answered.

"Now who's the space monkey?" Daniel asked with a grin. "You were awfully high in that tree. We missed you first time. Looking in the canopy was Binatou's idea."

"Thank you Binatou, I think I would have had trouble getting down," Jack admitted.

"Now," Sam added into the conversation. "We need to deal with the Laramidians."

"There might be a problem with that," Jack responded.

"Sir?" Sam questioned as the group congregated around Jack.

Jamieson slapped his arm and grinned at him, "still hard to kill then Jack." Jack grinned at him.

"I am pleased to see you O'Neill," Teal'c added. Daniel just grinned but the relief was clear on his face.

Jack looked at Sam and smiled faintly. "I'm glad to be back," he commented quietly and Sam smiled in response.

"What did they want with you?" He asked him after watching the interaction with curiosity.

Jack lost his smile for a moment and a sardonic laugh escaped. "Basically they wanted to know who ruled the universe and was it them. I told them an Atlantian Alliance controlled this whole galaxy. They didn't like that and when I told them that as far as I knew they didn't exist they liked it even less. When they dumped me they were making plans to leave. Fine by me."

"But sir, that's not true, why tell them that?"

Gildan watched Jack carefully as he considered what he had just heard and wondered himself why Jack would lie. Jack was remembering the brief conversation between the child and the old man before hearing the order to beam him to the surface. They were leaving not just the planet and the solar system, but the galaxy. They would go elsewhere in the Universe and that was fine by him. They would not be in his galaxy, not in his time and that was all that mattered to him. Because of him they now believed that the Atlantians would be in control the whole Galaxy. Despite the torture Jack had not told them about ascension and he definitely did not tell of the Ancients almost total disinterest in corporeal life forms. "To save us all a whole heap of trouble. They will leave the Atlantians alone in the here and now and our people later." _'No additional race to bother Earth, yes'_ he thought that had been worth the pain. However he didn't tell his friends what had been done to him just adding. "And because I didn't feel like telling them anything else."

Thor finally interrupted the fascinating conversation as he looked O'Neill over carefully. "If you will come with me we have a medical facility. I believe you are in need of some repair."

Jack nodded and followed the Asgard down to be repaired. Jack lay down where instructed and as the Asgard Doctor checked him over and decided how best to treat the wounds of this new species Jack lay still considering their position. _'We have to get home. We cannot stay here. I wonder if the Atlantians can really send us back."_

**Reviews welcome**


	17. Chapter 17

Thor had taken his unusual guests up to the main control room and was showing his new ship off when he was interrupted by his second in command. "Atlantis has called us to their aid. The ships engines have been sabotaged and an emergency call has come from Laramidia."

"What do they wish of us?" Thor asked.

"Several hundred persons have been forced out of Laramidia into the forests and the city is preparing to rise. If we cannot help to retrieve them they will be killed along with all creatures within the vicinity. The Laramidia have not set up the resonator to drive them out of the danger area."

"Then we must help immediately," Thor responded and set the ship to orbit over the area. "Samantha Carter, we could use your new equipment to locate and beam them aboard."

"You're not thinking of beaming dinosaurs aboard are you?" Jane's voice squeaked having misinterpreted Thor's comment as people and creatures. The Asgard looked at him and blinked not understanding the concern he could hear in the voice.

"Of course he isn't going to beam dinosaurs aboard," Jack chipped in. "Just the people."

"But what about the dinosaurs?" Binatou asked.

"Thought you didn't like them," Jamieson commented.

"That doesn't mean I think they should be murdered by these animals," she responded hotly and Jamieson's eyes widened at the response.

"Wow there Binatou I'm not the enemy," Jamieson retorted.

"Sorry sir," she responded, "but I do not like needless killing. They're the ones that need killing."

"We can move many of them without bringing them here," Thor commented as he stabilized the orbit and began snapping instructions to beam the people aboard as quickly as possible.

"Have their positions," Sam called from her console and her fingers flew. The figures began transferring to the beam controls and she left the console to join the group as they left Thor in the Control Room.

The group raced with Gildan to the area set aside to beam the people into. Surprised but grateful men, women and children began appearing in the ship's hold and were moved out to admit more. Many had been injured in the forest or by the security people who had evicted them from the city. The place rapidly became crowded and noisy as Gildan went amongst them trying to find out what was happening within Laramidia itself. After a while he came back to find Jack and Jamieson and nodded toward the people. "It was leave or die, not given any options. Apparently they were genetically incompatible whatever that means. That or members of the family had been fighting the new rulers in counsel."

"Well at least they are safe now and can make new lives for themselves in Atlantis," Daniel commented as he joined them. "We seem to be overloading the craft a little, I hope there are not many more."

Suddenly the whole craft seemed to shudder and Jack spun round and raced through the ship to the control room and Thor. "We are under attack," Thor stated in a calm voice. "Apparently they are annoyed at our interference."

"What a shame," Jack drawled. "Can your ship take the punishment?"

"Our screens are holding for the moment and we have almost finished. Then we will move out of range. We can transfer the animals from a greater…" Thor suddenly stopped. "They are lifting off now, we are out of time."

On the screen in front of them they all watched as the great city began rising. A wall of fire crept out from under the city burning down into the ground and outward like some huge blow torch destroying everything in its path.

"Did you get everybody?" Sam asked as she looked worriedly at Thor.

He tapped the console for a moment and then nodded. "Everyone we found in the scan is aboard. Let us hope there were no more. I am now orbiting the planet to keep it between us. Once they leave orbit we will become vulnerable to their more powerful weaponry. They do not however have our manoeuvrability."

"Will they attack Atlantis?" Teal'c asked. "It is what the Goa'uld would do."

"Who are these Goa'uld?" Gildan asked.

"The future," Jack responded shortly and then grinned. "Sorry Gildan, I just reminded myself of someone."

"Who is that?" Gildan had a decided twinkle in his eye when Jack responded.

"The ones that tell us we are too young a race for something," Jack responded cheerfully and Gildan suspected that their own race was one of those some ones.

"Do we need to warn Atlantis?" Jack asked Gildan.

"As they have already been sabotaged they will already be prepared," Gildan responded.

"Never the less we will make the call, err… Thor?" Jack responded.

"As you say we should make the call," Thor responded with distinct humour in his voice. He proceeded to contact Atlantis to inform them of the rescue and the possible danger.

Counsellor Miana responded as soon as the message was received. "Thank you for your concern. We are at present dealing with several small craft that have taken off unexpectedly. They do not appear to be for attack purposes, they are leaving the atmosphere. We guess they have a rendezvous with the Laramidian city. Counsellor's Diona and Bantan are with them. We have been badly betrayed it would seem."

"Explains how they were always one step ahead of us," Gildan commented. "Thor will wait until the ship is out of the solar system before bringing us back. He does not trust their intentions and is remaining in a defensible position for a while."

"That would seem eminently sensible," she replied. "We will see you all in a while. Thank you for your timely assistance Thor. The Asgard are loyal friends."

"If we ever get home this is all going to take some explaining," Jack said thoughtfully as he gazed out at the earth below. He could see a huge expanse of land to the horizon with what looked like extremely wide rivers running through it. "Pangea," he murmured.

Sam looked at her team leader and smiled, "Sir?"

"Name of the continent below." Jack murmured with a smile. "We are the only members of the human race to ever see this."

Daniel and Teal'c moved up to stand beside them and all four looked down on the land mass. "Yes sir. It doesn't look anything like the pictures our scientists have produced does it. Wonder why it really is splitting up."

"It is extremely large," Teal'c commented.

"It's already drifting apart but I see no cometary damage," Daniel added as the rest came up behind them to see what they were looking at.

Janes put an arm around Binatou and gave her a hug. "Something else we can't tell the grandchildren," he said with a grin and she grinned back.

"Is that a proposal?" she asked him with a cheeky grin and he smiled down in response.

Gildan and Thor looked at them all looking down at the Earth and then at each other as an unspoken message passed between them and Gildan nodded.

"The Laramidians appear to be leaving the system, not attacking Atlantis," Thor told them and noticed a gleam in O'Neill's eyes that he could not understand and wondered, _'what did this human actually tell his captors to make them act so out of character. The one called Teal'c was right, they should have attacked Atlantis, it is what was expected.'_

Thor's ship settled in a stable orbit over Atlantis and began to transfer the refugees down to the designated areas to be helped. His medical facilities only dealt with the most severely injured as there was limited room.

"With them gone it should be safe for your group to return to Atlantis now," Thor told Jack. "It was interesting meeting you and I look forward to continuing this new friendship in the future."

"In the far future," Jack responded and then stepped away from him as they were all beamed down their apartment in Atlantis. As the light faded Jack looked at his friends then at Gildan. "Now to get us home."

**Reviews of my stories are always welcome.**


	18. Chapter 18

After Jack and the others had been returned to Atlantis they had been asked politely to stay in or at least close to their apartment. Counsellor Miana explained that it was only while the city regained some kind of normality after the upset.

"Upset she calls it," Sam repeated after she had left. "What does she think we are going to do?"

"It is only temporary, for your protection until we can be sure they left no one behind who could give us trouble," Gildan explained patiently. Although he was inclined to think that the stories now circulating about them and the Asgard would ensure their safety in the city, he was following instructions to keep them safe. He knew however that anyone attempting to harm them would be taken down by a mob. Especially with the stories the Laramidian exiles brought with them. For some reason they believed that Jack O'Neill was responsible for their salvation. Gildan could not help but wonder why and had been trying to investigate but it seemed that every time he asked too many questions they became evasive. He would have to keep trying.

Meanwhile Miana and three other Counsellors were overseeing the appointment of two new Counsel Members also the replacement of various key personnel that had disappeared, presumably with the ships as their families were also gone.

Oma Desala came to visit and assure herself that her favourite people were all well but she seemed most interested in Daniel and spent several hours talking with him.

"I don't trust her, young or not. What is she after?" Jack's question was rhetorical Jamieson knew and did not attempt a reply.

"Sir, does it actually matter? In our time she helped Daniel on several occasions and whatever it was she put in his head saved him here." Sam pointed out.

Reluctantly Jack had to agree that was true, "but I still don't like it. What else has she done or going to do to him?" He growled and Oma's head turned and their eyes met as if she had heard the conversation from the other side of the large room. She smiled slightly which irritated him even more.

Two days later Gildan finally reappeared at the apartment with another invitation to dinner that evening. He also told them they could go where they pleased in complete safety. Janes and Binatou were immediately making plans and disappeared onto the balcony to sit in the sun. Teal'c face unusually lit up and with an uncharacteristic grab at Daniel's arm headed for the door. Daniel managed, "see you later!" as he was dragged from the room much to Jack's amusement. "I think Teal'c has been cooped up enough recently and can't wait to get out," he commented to Gildan who grinned in response.

"You do realise you do not need to wear those discs anymore. Your speech is perfect," Gildan told him.

Jack put his hand to the side of his head and grinned a little sheepishly. "You know, I forget it is there most of the time," and he pulled it off.

"Jack, I have a question to ask you and I want a straight answer," Gildan told him.

Jack was immediately on his guard and his eyes narrowed slightly as he replied. "What's the question?"

"What did you tell the Laramidians that made them leave here without even a fight for dominance?"

Jack looked at him and grinned in relief. "Oh that," he drawled.

Gildan was relieved by the grin and hoped he was about to shed some light on how he had unknowingly become a hero to the Laramidian refugees.

"Well you see they wanted a lot of information on your people's movements in out time, how much power Alantis had, what areas of space they controlled, and things like that." Jack explained. "I told them to go to Hell, so they gave me to a…" Jack stopped and something Gildan could not understand passed across Jack's face. Jack walked away from him and picked up a drink and took a mouthful.

Gildan noticed his hand shook very slightly and suddenly had an insight. "They tortured you?"

Jack looked back over his shoulder at him and then put the drink down. "They tried getting into my mind first but I knew it wasn't real so… They sent a child to my cell, a child with an ability to inflict pain without even touching me. It seemed like hours and it… he.. did say that he could do it for as long as it took to break me."

Gildan shuddered as he realised he had been tortured by a telekinetic and wondered if he should suggest a further medical check with that in mind. _'There could be permanent damage he is not yet aware of.'_ Then he realised that they could do that when they were cleared for the attempt to send them home and Jack would never have to know. "You said it?" Gildan prompted quietly.

"It made it easier to deal with," Jack almost whispered and then seemed to pull himself together. "Anyway that is not what you want to know."

"No," Gildan acknowledged letting the conversation move to safer ground. "What did you tell them that sent them running?"

Then a genuine smile appeared on Jack's face and it put the twinkle back in his eye. "Oh, when it seemed to them that I could take no more I pretended to crack and told them of an Earth legend, but I added a few extras of my own."

"What legend was that?"

"The legend of Atlantis. We do have one you know." Jack told him.

"Really, tell it to me," Gildan almost commanded intrigued that such a legend would exist.

"Which one, the original or the one adapted for their benefit?"

Gildan smiled as he indicated he wanted to settle outside in the sun and they went out onto the balcony, chasing Janes and Binatou away. He settled in one of the chairs and waited for Jack to tell him what he wanted to know.

"The original has a sad ending; do you really want to know it?" Jack asked.

Gildan thought about it for a moment and then smiled, "It is after all only a legend."

"According to our legend Atlantis sank without trace into the ocean. Big tidal wave or earthquake or something like that got it. Don't know the whole story myself and there are several versions of it I think. Having said that we know Oma exists in our time so I don't think that scenario washes," Jack added.

"Could be that when Atlantis took off into space sometime, someone was left behind to talk of the disappearance, although that would not explain them saying we disappeared into the sea." Gildan commented thoughtfully. "Now tell me the tale you told them."

"Well, I told them the story of Atlantis the beautiful city that had an enemy who envied her. One day this enemy attacked the city with a huge fleet, it was unexpected and unprovoked but they found that her defences could not be breached. In anger at the sneaky attempt to wipe them out, the people of Atlantis called up the thunder and lightening and struck at their enemy and destroyed all their ships and everyone was drowned."

"They believed you?"

"I didn't say it was them, only that it was all my people knew of an ancient enemy of our Atlantian friends in our time. It was enough to worry them, which was good as they were intending to destroy Atlantis. Until then they thought they would have no trouble."

"They may well have been right. We did not expect them to go so far to attain what they wanted."

"And what was that?" Jack asked curious to see how much Gildan would tell him.

"They believe us to be the first and therefore the most superior race in the universe and that all other younger races are here to worship us as gods." Gildan shook his head in disbelief as he tried to explain something so alien to him.

"Gods huh. Well they weren't that sure of themselves. They believed you could destroy them," Jack commented.

"Is that all you told them?"

"Yes, why?" Jack drawled.

"Doesn't explain why the Laramidians think you are some kind of hero. People here might when they know, but why the others," Gildan asked puzzled.

Jack shrugged as he thought Gildan was overdoing the hero thing anyway. Then he asked, "while you're here maybe you can tell us how it is going with getting us home."

Gildan's smile widened as he answered. "Desala thinks he can repeat the experiment, but it needs to be exact. He is worried that you might meet yourselves and apparently that would be bad."

"No kidding," Jack responded.

"Something about waiting for the sun to be right before attempting to recreate the conditions. No good asking me it is not my field." Gildan finished. "He does however want you all to go through a medical check and some tests before he puts you through another time distortion. He is concerned that a second time might be more than your bodies could take."

"Well I sure hope he is wrong about that," Jack responded as he watch a pair of pterosaurs flying along the coastline. "As nice as this place is, there is no place like home."

**Reviews welcome as always :)**


	19. Chapter 19

It was not Sam's first trip to a Medical Facility and not the first time she had seen this one but this time she was really nervous. She could not put her finger on it but she felt threatened. "Colonel, I am unhappy about this."

"Why?" Jack asked her quietly as they sat and waited to see Desala and the Doctor who had treated Sam before.

"I don't know sir; it just feels wrong this time. I know they have done nothing to make me mistrust their intentions but…" she faltered.

"You mistrust their intentions Carter. However, we do not have a lot of choice in this. If we could get home under our own steam I would say lets get the hell out of here, but as it is."

Carter nodded her head, she did understand their dilemma but it didn't make her feel any better. If anything it increased the helpless feeling having to let them do these tests. She smiled at Jack and commented. "Now I know what some of our visitors feel like." Jack smiled down at her and nodded.

To take her mind off their up coming tests he asked. "What are we going to do about Janes and Binatou?"

"Do sir? Well Janes isn't SGC, there is that to sort out of course and Binatou, well, if Janes doesn't become SGC I suppose it won't matter but still, there is a problem to resolve."

"These things have a way of sorting themselves out I suppose," he said thoughtfully. "For most people anyway." Their eyes met and Sam suddenly caught her breath. "Would it be so bad if we can't go home," Jack murmured.

Sam's hand unconsciously began to rise to his face as they heard themselves being called into the other room. Sam smiled a little wistfully as she realised another moment had passed them by. Jack's face reflected the smile as he rose to respond to the call.

Desala was waiting for them and guided them into two separate cubicles and asked them to lie down and get comfortable. Jack settled down as they began scanning him electronically. After a few minutes he decided it wasn't so bad and relaxed. He was not aware of drifting into sleep or of the sleep deepening into unconsciousness. Sam took longer to relax but finally drifted off and was also put into an unconscious state. As the group gradually arrived for their checks they were all deeply sedated.

The initial scans told Desala that they were all healthy except for Jack who was quickly moved to a medical repair unit. Then the Atlantians began checking the results and dealing with any problems they found. Finally he went to see the Counsel and Gildan was also called to the meeting.

Desala looked around the room nervously. He knew he had caused this problem with his time experiments and in a way triggered the problem with the Laramidian faction of their race. No one had actually blamed him, but he blamed himself. Now he had to be sure the resolution of this problem was permanent and did no more harm. He took a deep breath and put the small console on the desk in front of him.

"There is good news for the most part, but there are one or two difficulties which need resolving. Firstly, Jack O'Neill. He had been quite badly injured by the Laramidians and must have been in a great deal of pain which he did not tell us about. We have repaired the damage to his body. All the others are in good health, even the strange one with the small creature in his pouch, a most interesting subject. Unfortunately one of them was genetically damaged by the transfer through the time distortion. Although not immediately apparent the damage was of a serious nature. I am afraid that although we have repaired the damage now it will reoccur if another trip is made. It would be a slow and painful deterioration for her and she would die within a month or two of the event.

As for the experiment and their transfer back to their own time, it will be repeated exactly except for one parameter to shift the time forward slightly. This has to be calculated with extreme care so that they will arrive back in their own time within a few hours of having left it. The last of the super solar flares is expected in the next two days. If we do not do this then we may never be able to return them. With the release of this energy it is expected that the sun will find its balance once more and no more solar flares of this magnitude will be expected in the foreseeable future."

"Desala," Gildan interrupted. "You have not said which of our guests cannot go back. It is what you mean is it not. Which one suffered the genetic damage?"

"The one they call Binatou. I would say that she has had previous untreated radiation exposure. The combination of that with the distortion effects has been most unfortunate."

"This is not news they will want to hear," Gildan commented.

"That has been taken into account with the preparations for their return," Desala explained. "The biggest problem we have is O'Neill; his mind is not susceptible to our normal methods. It will take a few hours more before we can be sure the conditioning takes. Twenty four hours from now we will prepare them for transport to the Stargate. They have one more day left in Atlantis and we should make it a good one."

"What is it about O'Neill that makes him so resistant?" Gildan asked.

"He has been tortured a number of times and suffered some serious injuries. The scars left, mental and otherwise have basically rewired his brain. His reactions are not predictable. We will repair as much of the damage as is advisable."

"Why not all of the damage?" Counsel Miana asked. "Surely it would be best for him."

"I do not believe so," Desala replied. "The changes in his mind make him what he is. To remove some of them would make him vulnerable. He is a warrior that would not be wise."

In the cubicles set aside for them the group was slowly waking up. Only O'Neill slept on for several more hours as the Altantians made careful changes that no one would ever notice. As an afterthought Desala made a few adjustments to the Asgard marker floating in Jack's blood. He would tell Thor of the alterations so that he would be able to monitor them when they met again in that future time.

"Where is Jack?" Jamieson asked when Sam joined them back at the apartment.

"He wasn't about when they had finished doing my tests. I thought maybe he had come back earlier than me," Sam answered a frown descending. "How long have we been gone?"

"Don't know exactly as we all have come back in the last half hour." Jamieson replied as they heard a polite knock on the door.

Sam spun round and opened it to find Gildan there. "What's going on! Where is Colonel O'Neill?" Sam demanded.

"He will be here in about an hour. He has been taken to see the Counsel first," Gildan replied cautiously. He was not keen to antagonise this particular person as he had a feeling that it might turn painful.

"Why?" Jamieson asked stepping forward before one of SG1 reacted.

"There has been a problem and they wish to discuss it with him," Gildan explained without answering.

"Cut the bull," Daniel snapped, "and tell us where Jack is."

"You really can be very aggressive people," he responded mildly. "I assure you no one is going to harm him."

"Then perhaps you will explain to us the missing time," Teal'c requested.

"Missing time?" Gildan asked a little unsettled.

"Approximately twenty four hours has passed since we attended your medical facility," Teal'c stated. "This was not what we were told would happen."

Gildan sighed and walked around Sam into the room to find a seat. He felt a mixture of curiosity and down right hostility in the room and hoped that the Counsel would not take to long letting O'Neill come back. They had not expected them to realise a full day had passed. It was one of the reasons they had kept them the full day. These people seemed to have an internal clock of their own.

He decided to use a little of the truth to placate them. "We found medical problems with several of your people and healed them. We did a full scan and repair on you all and that takes many hours. At this moment the Counsel is reporting the findings to Jack before he returns to you."

"What findings?" Janes asked.

"That is what the Counsel and Desala is telling him as we speak. Apparently you have only a twenty four hour wait now before the experiment can be repeated," he added hoping to divert them.

"We go home then?" Binatou asked excitedly and he winced visibly when she asked the question. It was not lost of Sam and he saw it as their eyes met but unexpectedly she didn't question him.

"Well, I guess we can wait an hour to find out what is going on. We will be told when he gets back?" Sam asked and saw the gratitude in his face and wondered what findings were making him so uncomfortable. It was clear to her that Gildan wanted Jack O'Neill to be the one to explain.

They waited a little over an hour for Jack to return and he was not happy. "Gildan," he acknowledged his presence. "I need to speak to my people alone if you please."

Gildan nodded. "I will be outside if you need me."

After Gildan had left they all turned expectantly to Jack but his eyes were on Binatou. "I need you all to sit down while I explain something to you." Jamieson opened his mouth to ask a question then changed his mind and sat down.

Jack settled on the edge of a table the expression on his face was unreadable. Daniel looked concerned and glanced at Sam briefly before settling beside her on the couch. Both had a hollow feeling in the pit of their stomachs. Teal'c moved to look out at the balcony and then settled where the light breeze flowed into the room.

Finally he cleared his throat. "No beating about the bush here, we have a serious problem. One of us is going to have to stay on Atlantis permanently. They cannot take another trip through a time distortion apparently it will kill them, slowly and painfully."

"Who?" Sam asked quietly and Jack looked at Binatou.

"I'm sorry Binatou. They say that repairs have been done and you are fine now and will live a long life, but not if you go back through the Stargate. They are more than happy to give you a life here but do not want to be responsible for your death if you attempt the Stargate."

Binatou stared at him stricken to silence and Janes put an arm around her shoulder. "Could they be lying Sir?"

"Why would they do that? I am of no strategic use to them," Binatou responded with a swallow to control a rising panic.

"You could still take your chances with the Stargate. Are doctors may be able to cure you," Phillips suggested.

Jack looked at Binatou to see how she responded to the idea; half hoping she would take the chance, even though he believed what he had been told. Suddenly she seemed to straighten her shoulders and she looked at the people who had become close friends in recent days. "It's a beautiful city, an interesting world out there. If they are offering me a home and life I would be a fool not to take it."

"If you stay, I stay," Janes stated holding her shoulders in a tight grip. "I am not going back without you." He looked at Jack and saw a faint smile appear. "You expected I would choose to stay Sir?"

"I am not blind Janes, but are you sure you want to do this?" Jack asked.

"Yes sir. I couldn't leave her and I have no close family to go back to. Parents are dead, no brothers or sisters. No one to miss me. Binatou has more to lose than I have by staying."

"What will you tell my parents?" Binatou asked and then realised. "That I died in action somewhere, maybe give me a posthumous award?"

"Something like that," Jack responded. "You can never come back if you both stay."

"But we can have a good life here sir," Janes responded and Jack nodded.

"Does that mean the rest of us are going back sir?" Pearson asked.

"So it would seem soldier," Jack responded with a faint smile. "Those of us that are left. Apparently we are invited to a shindig this evening in our honour. This time I am assured that it will be fun and no one will be drugged or kidnapped. I think we should make the most of our last night in the fabled city, what do you say folks?" Jack asked with a grin.

As the group broke up Jack went and sat beside Binatou and Janes. "Gildan has asked that I tell you he is offering you a place on his team. He thinks that you will be uniquely qualified to help with anything unusual that comes up. The Atlantians told me they expected your both would remain with them. They're not blind either," he finished. "Are you sure you are OK with this?"

"Life or death? Guess I am alright with the life part," Binatou replied. "Besides we are the only humans to get a chance to live in Atlantis and who knows…" then she grinned despite the situation and grabbed Jane's hand on her shoulder. "We could be the origin of the species sir." Jack let out a laugh as he heard his own phrase at the SGC being used by someone else.

Twenty four hours later they were all stood with Gildan in front of the Stargate. The whole area seemed unnaturally quiet as the wild life had been driven away temporarily. In the sky the sun shone brightly, very brightly Sam decided and wished she had her sun glasses with her.

"It's almost time," Gildan commented. "We need to stand well clear of the Stargate. The energies involved I believe are quite dramatic."

Everyone backed away as the Stargate began dialling out. "Is it my imagination or is it getting hotter?" Jack asked as he watched a mist rising from the ground.

"Yes. According to the scientists this will be the last big flare we will see for several thousands of years," Gildan explained. "As soon as the event horizon forms you need to get out of here. We will be retreating now to the ship were we will be protected from the solar storm that is rising. Good luck to you all. Long life and happiness."

With that they took a hurried departure and the Stargate completed its dialling and the event horizon shot forward, increasing in volume then the light turned violet. "That looks familiar," Jack commented as a wind started up as air blasted past them from the Stargate itself.

"Hope that doesn't suck anyone else through," Sam commented as they all hugged the ground until it died away.

"Come on. Last one home buys the beers!" Jack yelled as they all ran into the event horizon.

In the SGC the room had immediately been sealed as the Stargate began to dial in. The weaponry within the room was being remote controlled. General Hammond came down from his office immediately. "We are not expecting anyone."

"No sir."

"Sir I think I have SG1 IDC!" Walter shouted suddenly.

"Well do you or don't you?" Hammond asked.

"Yes sir it is SG1!"

"Open the iris," Hammond ordered and the iris slid back to reveal the already formed event horizon. Seven figures shot through the horizon running down the ramp trying to stay on their feet. They stopped at the bottom and looked up at the control room.

Hammond raced down the stairs and looked at Jack. "Anyone else with you Colonel?"

"No sir this is all that is left." Jack replied.

"The team I sent through before you?" Dead sir.

"And Janes?" Hammond asked.

"Janes sir?" Jack repeated. "I'm sorry sir I don't feel so good I…" Jack crumpled in front of him and the others followed him down.

"Get a medical team down here!" Hammond ordered and they were rushed to the infirmary.

A short while later General Hammond visited the Infirmary to check on the returnees. Jack lie on his bed awake and staring at the ceiling with a frown on his face. "How are they doctor?" He asked.

"As far as I can tell they are in perfect health, but there is something strange," Frasier answered.

"What is that Doctor?"

"They do not appear to remember anything that has happened to them since they went through the Stargate."

"What nothing?"

"No sir. They have no recall of their last fourteen hours at all. They can't tell us where they have been or what happened to those that are missing."

General Hammond looked at the returned teams and shook his head. "At least we have them back. Maybe one of them will remember something eventually."

"General Hammond!" Daniel called and Hammond went over to him. "It was the Ancients sir."

"Where did they take you?"

"I don't remember, I just know it was them," Daniel replied.

**Hope you enjoyed the story. Please review.**


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